Shin Megami Tensei: P3 Plus 1
by Crimson Reaper Ragna
Summary: Minato Arisato is given one chance to re-write history to prevent his fall into a coma; however, he cannot do it alone. Yu Narakami will arrive from the future to assist him in his journey to seal Nyx... but will they succeed? Or is history doomed to repeat itself again? NO LONGER ACCEPTING OCs. Co-authored with Omegaxis1.
1. Prologue: A New Chance

SHIN MAGAMI TENSEI

PERSONA 3+1

By Shunto

Well, I decided to check out PERSONA3 and here's what happened;

Diss this game in front of me, and I will EAT. YOUR. LIMBS.

Just kidding. I love the series(even though I've only played the 3rd entry), and have decided to write a fanfic about it… only different as you can tell from the summary.

Essentually, expect the same script as the game, only altered to include P4 Protaganist, Yu Narukami/Souji Seta.

For the sake of myself, Yu will be called Narukami-kun by the other characters.

Enjoy!

_Minato's POV_

I'm trapped.

Trapped in this nightmare.

Doomed to exist as a barrier between Erebus and Nyx.

Why? Why me? Why not someone else?

I had so much going for me…

A girlfriend who loves me…

Friends who adore me…

A school who respects me…

And it's all gone.

At least, it was…

Until… you appeared.

_Yu's POV_

I never really had much going for me.

After the battle with Izanami, things never really got exciting in my town.

Days went by… I graduated from college, got a degree in Electronic Repair…

Ya know, normal stuff.

Until THAT night…

I strained to open my eyes. They burnt with pain.

And they shot open without control. It didn't take 3 seconds to realize I wasn't in my room anymore.

I was in the Velvet Room. The room where I began my journey.

Igor was sitting where he usually was. But to my surprise, there was no sign of Margaret anywhere. It was… another kid.

He had blue hair, which came down to his face, covering about half of it. His eyes were grey… kind of emotionless. On his arm, he wore a red band marked with S.E.E.S.

S.E.E.S.? I couldn't shake the feeling that I had heard of that name before. I just didn't know where…

Of course, I couldn't ignore his headphones which hung from his neck down to the front of his shirt.

He turned around to face me, and raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" he said.

I walked up to him and extended my hand.

"Yu Narukami. You can call me Naru for short."

The young kid smiled and shook my hand.

"Alright. Nice to meet you, Naru-kun. My name's Minato Arisato."

I smiled and released my grip.

After our introductions, Igor began to speak.

"I think I should tell you the reason I called you here. You see…"

_Minato's POV_

I was shocked. A second chance? Me? I could rewrite history to avoid my coma?

Naru-kun took a step forward.

"Igor, you seriously don't expect us to believe you, right?"

Igor laughed.

"Young Narukami, I assure you that I speak the truth. You are Minato's last hope to his survival."

Naru-kun closed his eyes, deep in thought. And then he smiled.

"Alright. Count me in." Turning to face my direction he smiled.

"Let's do it, Minato-kun. I'll help save your timeline from destruction!"

We slapped hands, and Igor held up a tarot card.

"Good bye, Narukami. And good luck to both of you."

With that, he crushed the card in his hand, and everything turned black…

This is my last chance, I thought.

_Yukari… wait for me._

And that's the end of the prologue!

Peace all!


	2. Chapter 1: Iwatodai Again

SHIN MAGAMI TENSEI

PERSONA 3+1

By Shunto

I DON'T OWN ATLUS. IF I DID, I'D SCREW EVERYTHING UP.

Enjoy!

_Minato's POV_

It was like waking up from a dream.

All of the sudden, I wasn't in the velvet room any longer.

I was on the train I had boarded when I was coming to Iwatodai.

The most notable change? The fact that Naru-kun was sitting across from me, in a daze.

He shook his head, looked around and widened his eyes. The first words out of his mouth weren't the weirdest things I had heard in my life.

"Where are we?"

That actually sounded normal, not that anything that happens in my life could even be _considered _normal.

He looked up at the arrival signal, and widened his eyes again.

Weird is all I can say.

"Iwatodai?! _THAT _Iwatodai district on Port Island!?"

He'd heard of it? Wow. Just about no one knew what transpired on January 31, 2010.

Then he cleared up my thoughts.

"Heh. Last time I was here was on my school field trip."

Oops. Forget what I said about what transpired that night.

He then turned to face me, but didn't have enough time to get his words out of his mouth when a blaring voice came over the speakers.

"_We will be arriving at Iwatodai Port Island later than expected. Please forgive us for this minor delay in sceduale."_

I slumped back. It was only 11:00. We had a whole freakin' hour left to wait.

_Narukami's POV_

We finally arrived at our stop just before midnight.

But Minato-kun didn't seem so happy. His eyes simply stared at the moon as the clock struck twelve.

All of the sudden, the electricity went out and the sky turned a sickly green.

But the moon I could not take my eyes off of.

It was no longer the innocent pale white that glows in the night sky.

It was a warped and sinister glaring yellow.

I could feel the evil in the air that night…

If only I knew how much I would be going through on my journey to rewrite history with Minato Arisato, I never would have accepted.

END OF CHAPTER 1


	3. Chapter 2: Contract for two?

SHIN MAGAMI TENSEI

PERSONA 3+1

By Shunto

Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with ATLUS. There, I said it.

Enjoy this one too!

_Narukami's POV_

Minato kept staring at the sky for a while before refocusing onto me and gave me a smile.

"Well, let's go."

I nodded and proceeded with him outside the train station where another disturbing site awaited me.

There were no people. No animals even.

Just eerie, ominous coffins with a sickening red glow.

My jaw dropped and I was in absolute stunned silence.

Minato-kun must have known what I was thinking as he grabbed my arm and dragged me along with him.

I was struggling at first, but soon I ceased as he said something to calm me down.

"We gotta get out of here. Let's go to the dorm, fast."

I nodded and walked at my own pace now. I didn't care if it was a fortress; anywhere on Port Island was better than here.

We kept walking for a while until we reached a large building with the words GEKKOUKON HIGH SCHOOL LIVING QUARTERS emblazoned on the front.

Minato waved me over and we entered the seemingly safe building.

_Minato's POV_

Nothing had changed at all. It was exactly as I remember.

The living quarters were the same, the old TV was in the same place; hell even the couch hadn't moved.

Of course, it was short lived.

"Welcome," a familiar voice spoke.

Naru-kun stood in silence as he turned to face my old friend, Pharos; more accurately, the form that Death took within my mind.

"W-w-w-what the hell is a little kid doing here?!" Naru-kun yelled.

I couldn't really explain this to him now. I mean what was I supposed to say? _Oh him? He's the form that the Death Arcana manifests as while it rests within my psyche. Don't mind him. _He'd think I'm nuts.

He extended the familiar contract in front of me.

It wasn't a shock this time though.

"If you two are going to proceed, then… please. Sign here. It's a contract."

Naru-kun looked at the contract and, not surprisingly, widened his eyes. He must really like doing that.

"I've signed this before!" he said.

This time, it was Pharos' turn to be confused.

"Did you? I don't recall that, sadly. But please, it's for your own good. If you don't want to sign it, that's fine, but beware that you won't gain access to your power…"

Naru-kun smirked, but it disappeared immediately when Pharos finished his statement.

"Access in THIS world at least… Yu Narukami."

He was taken aback by this, but I was simply amazed. How did this kid-

Of course. He's with me again, and we talked about everything during the last hour on our way here.

We both signed our names on the line and the contract vanished.

Pharos smiled, and spoke again.

"Very well. I have to go now. Time marches on in your world, so… till we meet again."

He vanished instantly, and behind us, a voice I would never forget-even in a comatose state- came from behind me.

"Hey! You two!"

I heard the words of my future girlfriend, and the one person I could express all my worries to.

I heard the voice…

Of Yukari Takeba.

There we go people! R&R please.

Good night all!


	4. Chapter 3: Meeting a Memory

SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI

PERSONA 3+1

By Shunto

Finally saw the error in the title… I'll fix the other ones soon.

Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with ATLUS. PERSONA3 and P4 belong to ATLUS entertainment.

Enjoy…

_Minato's POV_

I would never be able to forget Yukari, even in death.

It was September that the two of us started 'going out'. Well, more so just together for trips and stuff.

We really got along well. Even in the beginning, I could sense her care and slight affection towards me.

And in the end, it turned into an unshakable bond of love.

I felt responsible for her. Especially the time when I thought she was going to get raped by those thugs on September 24.

But she didn't know any of that. I would have to re-kindle my relation with her, and that would take a long, long time.

But I could wait.

_Naru's POV_

Minato-kun just kept staring off into space, and the girl kept staring back before finally saying, "What's wrong? Something on my face?"

Minato-kun realized what he was doing, and turned his face away to hide his embarrassment.

She took a step back and reached for a holster on her leg.

Holster? She had a GUN?

She was gonna SHOOT US DEAD?!

Wow, my life really sucks.

Until another girl arrived, and saved us.

The one girl looked surprised. "Mitsuru-senpai?! What's going on!?"

The girl whose name was Mitsuru looked around. "Quiet. It's almost 1AM."

1 AM!? Jesus, we had been up far, FAR too long tonight.

Suddenly, the lights came back on, and Mitsuru(who was apparently a higher class than us)motioned us over to sit on the couch with the other girl.

_Minato's POV_

Mitsuru Kirijo. An ally in my battle against Nyx, and a dear friend.

A senior, she was the smartest girl in school, and the most popular as well. Hell, as Junpei-sama said, she had some kinda AURA around her.

But my heart belonged to Yukari-chan, the only girl that I truly love.

I love everything about Iwatodai, but to me, she symbolizes that. I couldn't bear losing her, and neither could she. When I fell completely comatose on 3 years after our graduation, she cried on my shoulder.

I even had and out-of-body experience, and when everyone left, she stayed behind and whispered something into my ear that I'd never forget.

"_I love you, Minato-kun. I always have and always will…Forever… I'll always remember you, don't worry."_

Then she leaned over to the face of my body, cupped my face in her hands, and gave me a long, deep kiss.

I need to figure out if souls can blush, because I could've lit up a Christmas tree with that blush I had on.

Anyway, back to reality…

Mitsuru coughed and began to introduce herself to us. Well more accurately, Naru-kun, but…

I needed to pretend I was new. It was painful, but essential to my ensured survival.

I hope, at least.

There we go… R&R please…

Good day to you…


	5. Chapter 4: Slight Change in Times

SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI

PERSONA 3+1

By Shunto

I'm sad that summer vacation's almost over, but I had a blast.

Anyway, here's Chapter 4.

I don't own ATLUS.

Chapter 4

_Minato's POV_

Yukari sat down on the couch and began to speak while looking at me and Naru-kun.

"Who are they?"

I was worried that Mitsuru would kick Naru-kun out, but I was shocked about what she said next.

"They're transfer students. I didn't think they'd arrive so late though."

Someone-or something- had screwed around with time a bit to make us both transfer students. I couldn't believe it.

Yukari-chan then looked uncomfortable as she glanced at Mitsuru-senpai.

"Is it okay for them to be here?"

She smiled with her usual 'I-am-a-genius' glance and eased Yukari's tension.

"Don't worry. They'll be moved to a room in the boy's dorm later." She then looked at the two of us.

"By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Mitsuru Kirijo, a senior. This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring, like you two."

Yukari smiled and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

I smiled back and applied a firm grip to her hand. "You too. I'm Minato. Minato Arisato. And this is-"

Naru-kun finished my sentence and rubbed the back of his neck whilst smiling. "Name's Yuu Narukami. My friends call me Seto, though."

Yukari nodded. "I'm sure we'll all get along fine. Here, I'll guide you to your room."

Naru-kun looked uneasy now. "Room? Not rooms?"

Yukari blushed a little. "Yeah, we got some private requests for rooms, so you can sleep on the pull-out bed."

Naru-kun breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Ok. Thanks."

_Narukami's POV_

After arriving at our room, Yukari turned around and bowed. "Any questions?"

I nodded. "Just one; does that kid live here?"

Minato-san looked at me weirdly and Yukari just rolled her eyes. "What 'kid'?

I shrugged and shook my head. "Never mind…"

She walked away but turned around one more time. "Hey," she said, "don't tell anyone about what you saw, alright? Night."

We entered the room and Minato-san pulled out a smaller bed that attached to his bunk. I collapsed on it and Minato followed up immediately.

"Good night," I said. "I hope we start ass-kicking tomorrow…"

Minato shrugged. "…in one more day."

I laughed. This was gonna be one very interesting journey.

R&R people.


	6. Chapter 5: First Day and a Sister

P3+1

BY SHUNTO "ARISATO"

Bad joke, I know ..

Chapter 6: First Day and a Sister

_Narukami's POV_

I was getting my clothes on when two distinct knocks came at the door.

Minato-kun went up to it and opened it up to see a smiling Yukari.

"Good morning!" She said.

Minato shook her hand. "Morning. How'd you sleep?"

Yukari rolled her eyes. "Eh, so-so. Anyway, Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school, being your first day and all…"

I nodded and gathered my things before stopping Minato.

"What's up?" He said.

"That girl… Yukari, is she your girlfriend?"

Minato blushed a deep crimson and nodded. "Y-yeah… later that is…"

I nodded in satisfaction and headed down the steps and out the door.

_Minato's POV_

As we rode the bullet train towards Gekkoukan High School, my mind began to drift.

Would having a persona-user with the Wild Card help me?

I didn't know what to think.

But I had to. 'Cause on the day I went comatose, I had a plan to propose to Yukari in front of all my friends, but if I failed… I'd be scared if she moved on or just forgot about me…

Yukari waved her hand in front of my face, and snapped me back to reality.

"Hey, we're here."

I nodded and picked up my bag, and prepared to disembark.

As the three of us walked towards the school, I smiled at it's 'glow.' Not that it had one, but it's that thing in the back of your head, you know?

A girl on a bike rode by and waved towards Yukari. She was probably the rumor-starter.

"Morning!" she chirped loudly.

"Morning, Shia-chan!" she replyed back.

We came to a stop at the school gates as Yukari turned around.

"Well, here we are! Welcome to Gekkoukan High School! I know you'll love it here!"

Yu nodded and dragged me inside, heading straight for the classroom assignments.

_Narukami's POV_

I was amazed at what I saw; even more amazed to see… Chihiro? She walked down the hall, hands in her pockets. Looking over to Minato, he was looking at some other students, such as a kid staring at a slutty-looking teacher, two track team members in what seemed to be an argument, and other things.

As Minato went over to the line-up board, I followed him as he dragged his finger over the rosters, and said the names out loud.

"Let's see… Tainaye, Shia…Takeba, Yukari…Iori, Junpei… Arisato, Minato… Narukami, Yu!"

I did a fist bump with Minato as we headed towards the faculty room.

Inside were two students and a teacher. Minato smiled as she looked at us.

"How may I help you?"

_Minato's POV_

"Excuse me; we're the two transfer students…"

Ms. Toriumi nodded and flipped through her book.

"Ah… Minato Arisato, and Yu Narukami… apparently, Minato, you have a next-of-kin called Haruko Arisato; your sister, correct?"

Minato nodded, and Ms. Toriumi kept flipping through some pages.

"Let's see… in 1996… that was when- 'gasp'!"

She turned a pale white and looked at Minato with saddened eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize…"

Minato smiled. "It's alright, my sis is all the family I need."

Ms. Toriumi nodded and stamped our papers for our entry.

"Now, we have an assembly, but it'll go quickly, don't worry."

I sighed as we trudged towards the auditorium.

The principal gave his speech and as we listened, a kid leaned over Minato's soldier.

"Psst, dude."

He turned around. "What?"

"That rumor about you and Yukari-chan… do you know if she has a boyfriend?"

Minato shook his head. "I have no clue."

The kid sighed. "Aww… I see. It's just that rumor-"

He was cut off by a rather obnoxious teacher who scolded him with a kind of 'wrong' voice.

"I hear TALKING! It's someone from Ms. Toriumi's class!"

Ms. Toriumi put her finger to her mouth as the older teacher tried to approach the student.

The assembly dragged on for a few more hours, sadly.

_Minato's POV_

As I packed my things to go home, I heard footsteps.

"Hey dude." It was Junpei.

I turned around and saw Yu-kun with a weird look on his face.

"Who is this guy?"

Junpei did his common 'what-the-hell-pose' and whined.

"Aw, come on! At least let me introduce myself!"

Yu rolled his eyes.  
"I'm Junpei Iori. Nice to meet you. I transferred here when I was in 8th grade…"

As Junpei rambled on, Yukari approached and shrugged.

"At it again, huh? I swear, you'll talk to ANYONE if they'll listen…"

Junpei looked at her weirdly. "Come on, Yuka-tan! I was bein' friendly!"

Yukari sighed. "Have you ever considered you might be bothering someone?"

The two kept bickering, and me and Yu nodded, as we left class. Neither one noticed.

_Narukami's POV_

As Minato pushed open the dorm doors, a young girl about his age was sitting on the couch, wearing a female Gekkoukan uniform.

"Oh, he's here!" she said.

Minato just went wide-eyed as the girl hugged him.

"Minato! Bro! I've missed you tons!"

I felt my jaw drop. This FLAKE was Minato's SISTER?!"

END OF CHAPTER 6


	7. Chapter 6: First Visit, Initial Response

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3+1

By Shunto

Chapter 7: First Vist, Initial Response

Introducing a new perspective character! Haruko Arisato will take the 3rd spot. Enjoy!

_Haruko's POV_

As I happily wrapped my arms around my brother, everyone started staring at me.

I thought nothing of it though; seeing Onee-san for the first time in months was all I cared about right now.

Eventually, I got the signal that he was uncomfortable, so I relented and gave him time to breath.

After an exchange of words, we all sat down and paid attention to the older gentleman, who I had just been acquainted with.

"Well, what a surprise!" he said. "Three transfer students in such a short time!"

Minato turned to face me.

"YOU got transferred here as well?!"

I giggled.

"Yeah, my G.P.A. was so good they transferred me here to prepare for the collage entrance exams."

The other boy(I think his name is Yu), stared with his mouth half-widened.

He then turned to face Minato.

"So… she's your… sister?"

He nodded.

"This never happened in my original journey; I have no idea what's going on."

_Minato's POV_

Haruko leaned to whisper to me.

"Don't worry; Igor sent me."

I was in shock; more than usual, at least.

"Igor sent you?! But you-"

She finished my sentence.

"Listen; you don't have much time, Onee-san. Your soul is in a very difficult battle against Erebus. If we don't set things right this time, your soul will shatter from the sheer exhaustion of repeating your journey. Erebus will reach Nyx, and then…"

I nodded.

"Alright, but your persona-"

She winked.

"You'll see, bro."

I smirked and turned back to Ikutsuki.

"Well now, seeing as we're all now friends, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. But please, call me Ikutsuki, provided you don't have much difficulty in the pronunciation."

I shook my head. "No, sir. I'm happy to meet you."

Ikutsuki laughed. "Well, I'm sure we'll get to meet again soon, but for now, please retire to your rooms- Oh! That's right!"

He sat back down.

"Regarding the current status of your rooms, I think we can leave everything as it is now."

I nodded. "Alright. Good night sir."

He laughed. "Thank you, and have a great school year. As they say, the early bird catches the book worm!"

He laughed and then moved his glasses back up his nose.

"Please excuse the bad pun…"

I rolled my eyes and later, in my room, went to sleep.

_Yu's POV_

I strained my eyes as I attempted to look through the darkness. At the end was the velvet room door. I pulled out my key, opened it, and went inside… only I wasn't alone with Igor and Margaret.

Instead, Minato and his sister were there in two seats; both had a lyre for a back. While Margaret was still present, I also saw two unfamiliar faces; a young girl and an even younger man.

As I sat down, Igor cleared his throat.

"Now, please forgive me for the sudden request of your presences, but this is urgent…"

I nodded. "Well, don't leave us hanging, Igor. What's up?"

The young lady stepped forward and spoke.

"It seems your presence here is causing a tear in space; this is most likely due to the fact that the three of you have never been in the same journey and reality is trying to cope."

The man spoke next.

"As my sister said, this tear is posing quite a threat to our reality; if left unchecked it will grow wider and wider until all matter and antimatter… are gone."

I shuddered. Was this now worth it?

Minato looked up. "How long do we have before it gets out of control?"

The girl looked grim. "….one year."

Haruko began to cry, and Minato punched the arm of his chair.

"Dammit! Is there really nothing we can do!?" I said.

Igor smiled. "Well, there IS an alternate solution…"

I looked over at him. "That being…?"

Margaret took over. "If you help Minato Arisato break free of his coma, you could go to your timeline and repair the tear from that angle; it seems that is where the rift originated."

Haruko smiled. "I see. So help my brother avoid his coma, go to Yu's timeline, journey through it with him and reality will mend?"

The man nodded. "Precisely, Mistress Arisato."

Igor held up a card. "Go forth, you three. Protect our reality."

With that, everything vanished, and I found myself back in the dorm room.

I drifted off to sleep with Igor's warning burned into my brain.

END OF CHAPTER 6


	8. Chapter 7: The First Summoning

Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3 + 1

By Shunto

_Chapter 7: The First Summoning; Awakening of Chosen, Hemera and Izanagi._

_Yu's POVa_

I've never been the type to judge. Kinda, I mean.

When I get pissed, I try and keep my cool, let people know I'm doing just fine.

Now… now I'm not so sure.

It was now April 9th, the day which would mark the beginning of our battles.

I was pumped up, and raring to go and kick some serious ass.

But Hamuko stayed at the dorm for some reason; apparently, Ikutsuki-san hasn't filled all the papers yet. Not that she cares, though.

As Minato-kun and I walked back from school, we took a side-trip through Iwatodai Station's Strip Mall; there wasn't much to see, but I did notice an elderly couple looking at a bookshop.

The two of us just kept walking without paying attention as we talked about things.

When we got back to the dorm, it was already pretty late. So we just jumped in our beds.

Minato-kun, however, kept staring at the full moon.

Full moon?

I thought that it may mean something, but I thought nothing of it.

I drifted off to sleep, but with slight disappointment that we might have to wait for our battles to begin.

_Hamuko's POV_

It was 12:00 AM, and I was sound asleep when I heard a loud banging at my door.

All of the sudden, Yukari came in holding a… naginata?

She looked distressed.

"Is something wrong, Yukari-chan?"

She nodded. "Don't ask questions! Just go! We have to get outta here!"

I nodded. "Alright!"

She then handed the naginata to me.

We then headed to my brother's room. I didn't know what was going on; Igor simply summoned me, told me about my powers, and sent me here. But I was doing this for my brother… cause I love him.

We burst into Onii-chan's room and he shot up in his bed.

"What the hell?! Usually people knock first…"

I shook my head. "Just get up! We have to get moving!"

_Minato's POV_

The first full moon was upon us. This was the night when Arcana Magician would try and attack the dorm.

But our powers were immense; we could easily overcome this with little effort.

Yukari handed me a shortsword and gave Yu a katana.

As we headed down towards the lounge, Yukari paused.

"Y-yes, I can hear you… wha-WHAT?! Then that means…

I heard a crash of a vase, and the four of us ran through the floors.

We dashed up the stairs and finally went to the roof as Yukari locked the door.

She started gasping for breath before looking at the three of us.

"O-okay… we should be safe for…for now…"

Her relaxation was cut short when she saw a hand-the Magicians hand- pop up and grab the roof. Another hand grabbed the roof while a third held up the Magician's mask. Several more brandished swords.

Yukari backed away.

"That's what we fight against… we…we call them Shadows." Yukari then looked down at her Evoker. "Oh yeah… I have to fight… I can summon mine..."

Yu and Haruko looked at Yukari as she pointed the Evoker to her forehead. But her panic of suicide caught her.

Suddenly, the Magician conjured up several tornados and sent them flying towards Yukari.

She gripped her Evoker even harder and began pulling the trigger…

But she was too late. The tornado hit her and the Evoker flew out of her hands… and slid to my feet.

I picked it up as Magician turned his focus to me… but I simply smiled.

Yu and Hamuko ran to me, but paused when they heard what I said next.

"Per…so…na…"

My head went away from the Evoker due to the impact as hundreds of blue shards flew out of my temple.

Yu, Hamuko and Yukari looked at me in amazement as my Persona took form.

What came out I didn't expect, however. Instead of what I had called out, Messiah, something completely NEW came out.

"_Thou art I… and I am thou… From the sea of thy soul I cometh… I am Chosen, the Child of Destiny."_

Chosen? I never heard of that name, so this was very new.

My surprise was short-lived, as suddenly Mitsuru and Akihiko came up.

Mitsuru tossed two more Evokers to Yu and Haruko as they caught them.

Hamuko pointed hers to her left temple as she smiled.

"Persona!"

The gun fired off as blue shards came out.

Again the voice spoke out.

"_Thou art I! And I am thou! From the sea of thy soul I cometh! I am Hemera, Goddess of Day!"_

Again, a name I never heard of.

Yu looked down at his Evoker and pointed it to his chin.

"Izanagi!"

Izanagi was yet another new name.

As it took shape, Yu smiled.

"_Thou art I. And I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I cometh… I am Izanagi, the Creator God."_

So we had two gods on our side and a Persona I had never heard of.

We turned our focus to Magician as it began to back away.

In retaliation, it launched a Maragidyne, thinking it could wipe us out in a single blow.

Hemera launched an orb of light at the fireball as it shattered upon connection.

All of the sudden, my mind began to hurt.

The God of Death, Thanatos, was about to come out.

As he tour himself out of Chosen, Arcana Magician backed away.

In an instant, it was over.

I felt my consciousness slip…

And the world went black.


	9. Chapter 8: SEES

Persona 3 + 1

By Shunto

Alright, it's time for Minato to wake up and for Yukari to tell him about his power.

Enjoy, and please check out my newest fanfic, Maple Story: Rise of the Black Mage.

Chapter 8: S.E.E.S.

_Minato's POV_

I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in a hospital. Next to me was Yukari.

This means today is April 19th.

She smiled. "Oh good, you're awake… we were so worried."

I smiled. "What happened?"

"Remember April 9th? Those things called Shadows?"

I nodded. "Yeah… I summoned something and then…"

Yukari's smile faded. "Something came out, and ripped the giant Shadow to shreds… four smaller ones came out, but your friends just…"

I looked down. "What did I do, Yukari?"

She looked at me. "Your power… we call it Persona."

I frowned. "Persona? What the hell is that?"

She giggled. "The thing that you summoned, silly. It was really powerful, too."

I grinned at the thought, but I didn't know why this new persona-Chosen-came out instead of Messiah.

She frowned again. "It was my first time fighting them… I was supposed to protect you three but… I'm so sorry, I wouldn't have gone through this if I wasn't such a coward."

I gripped her shoulder. "Hey… I was scared too."

She smiled. "Really? But… never mind. Anyway, when you get out tomorrow, we have something to tell you, alright?"

I nodded. "What's today?"

"Saturday," she replied.

"What about the others?"

She smiled. "They're at the dorm."

I nodded. "Alright… see ya."

She got up and left as I drifted off to sleep.

_April 19th to April 20th_

_Yu's POV_

Yukari and Mitsuru brought Minato-kun back to the dorm around 6:30.

His arrival was short-lived though; we had all been told to go to the 4th floor for something.

The five of us-me, Minato, Hamuko, Yukari and Mitsuru-headed up the stairs and stopped at a large door.

When we opened it, I was shocked to see a large computer.

This dorm has a computer? Not the first thing you'd expect.

Sitting on the couch was the man we met on April 8th; Shuji Ikutsuki.

He smiled and gestured us towards the seats.

He leaned forward and coughed to clear his throat, and began to speak.

_Hamuko's POV_

Ikutsuki-san crossed his legs and arms.

"I have to say, I'm quite relieved that the three of you are alright."

Onii-chan grinned. "Why did you call us here?"

He sighed. "Well you see… oh right! I think I mentioned him earlier to you Hamuko, but this is Akihiko."

A man in a red jacket carrying a black uniform stood up.

"How ya 'doin?" he said.

Ikutsuki-san continued. "Now that we're all here, allow me to ask you this."

He put his hands together and held them under his chin. "Would any of you three believe me if I said a day consists of more than 24 hours?"

Yu-kun went wide-eyed. "…excuse me?"

Mitsuru-senpai then laughed. "I'm not surprised by your reaction, but you've experienced the truth firsthand."

She sat back down. "Do you remember the night you came here?"

I nodded. "It was about a day before Onii-chan arrived… and the sky was green…"

She grimaced. "You must have also noticed that the streetlights went out… nothing was working… there were coffins everywhere…"

Senpai looked up and frowned. "That's the **Dark Hour**; a time period hidden between one day and the next."

I turned my head a little. "Hidden? I don't get it…"

Minato looked at Ikutsuki as if expecting an answer.

"Well, I guess it's something people aren't aware of. But it does exist. It occurs every night at midnight, and it will happen every night to come."

Yu looked worried. "What about the police?"

Mitsuru-senpai closed her eyes. "Unfortunately, the police can't do anything during the Dark Hour…"

Ikutsuki then looked at the three of us. "Although rare, there are those that are active during the Dark Hour."

Akihiko-senpai stood up. "…you saw those creatures."

Onii-chan nodded. "You mean…?"

Akihiko nodded. "We call them '**shadows**.' It's our job to defeat them. Sounds exciting huh?"

Mitsuru glared at him. "Akihiko! You were almost killed!"

Ikutsuki sighed. "Now Mitsuru… he does his work well…"

Senpai then looked at us again. "Shadows are only active during the Dark Hour, and attack anyone not in a **coffin**."

Onii-chan looked at Sanada-senpai oddly. "Not in a coffin? You mean...?"

Senpai nodded. "Everyone else doesn't realize what's going on because they're sleeping inside those coffins."

Mitsuru-senpai then stood up. "A shadow feeds on the mind of it's victim; the person becomes a living corpse. We call them... **The Lost**."

We all sat in silence and Ikutsuki-san spoke again.

Pushing up his glasses he spoke again. "In short, we're the **Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad**- **SEES** for short. On the newspaper, we're listed as a school club. But in reality this group is dedicated to defeating the shadows. The only people who can fight the shadows are you guys- your power allows you to fight the shadows head-on; it's called '**Persona**', the ability the three of you used that one night."

Yu-kun shrugged. "So?"

Senpai then opened up three metal cases; inside each was a red armband and a silver gun.

Mitsuru then spoke. "What he's trying to say, we want you to join us. We've prepared an **Evoker **for each of you. We want you to lend us your strength."

_Minato's POV_

I closed my eyes and smiled. "Count me in."

Yu also picked up the armband and Evoker, which meant he was in as well, and my sister followed immediately.

Yukari gleamed happily as the three of us were now SEES members.

Then, a voice rang out in my head.

"_Thou art I… And I am thou…"_

"_Thou hast established a new bond…"_

"_Each of thee shall be blessed when thoust create a Persona of the **Fool Arcana**…"_

And the voice faded.

The power of the Fool **Social Link** has become ours.

It seemed I would have to forge my bonds again, but I could manage.

After all, I've done this before.

END OF CHAPTER 8

Sorry for the delayed update…

IMPORTANT: The bolded words are glossary terms. I'll start adding those from here on out, just for fun. I'll also bold some for my own, like the Arcana.


	10. Chapter 9: The Exploration of Tartarus

PERSONA 3+1

By Shunto aka Black Viper Megiddo

Update time!

Enjoy~!

_Chapter 9: The Exploration of Tartarus_

_Hamuko's POV_

_April 20th__ to April 21st__  
_

Our next day of school wasn't so bad.

When the three of us came to the front gates though, Junpei-kun waved us over.

"Sup?," Yu-kun said.

Junpei-kun smiled. "Not much. Hey, I've got something to tell ya…"

I listened closely as he began to talk, but then he panicked. "Aw crap!" he said, "I forgot I wasn't supposed to say anything!"

Minato then checked his watch. "Dammit… today is Classic Lit… that means we've got that asshole Ekoda…"

The four of us trudged into class and sat down as Mr. Ekoda began to speak.

"Alright class, I'm Mr. Ekoda, and I'll be teaching you about good ol' Classic Lit this year. Now I know you people may not like it, but how you're wrong! You kids these days are all so dependent on technology…"

I saw Yu-kun begin sketching in his notebook, and because I didn't want to listen to this old fart go on and on about Classic Lit, I flipped to an empty page and drew him with a chicken body. Junpei looked at it from his desk and smirked.

Then Ekoda began talking even louder.

"Alright, kids, you may not know it, but I'm just as 'hip' as the rest of you. We'll start this semester by taking a look at the writings of the Greek poet **Homer**. He's what you kids would call 'da bomb'…"

Yu rolled his eyes and handed me a note. When I opened it, I suppressed a giggle, as it was very truthful.

_What kinds of kids today still say this BS? Is he a fossil or something?_

I wrote a quick reply.

_Nah, if he was a fossil, there'd be boring dust all over the place. XD_

No one really paid attention as Ekoda just read a few lines of a book that I DID like, _**Odysseus**__, _but hearing him say the words just tuned me out.

What he said next verified he was an old fart.

"…I can tell you kids are 'zoning out'…"

_Minato's POV_

After class, Mitsuru came to the five of us.

We all stopped doing what we were doing and listened.

"Arisato twins, Narukami and Takeba? I need you to come to the 4th floor today after school."

With that, she left.

My sister just stared and then spoke.

"She was certainty direct."

Yukari sighed. "She's probably busy with things like Student Council, unlike us."

Junpei whistled sharply. "Ooooh, Yuka-tan. Do I sense some hostility?"

Yukari looked annoyed. "Well it's not that I don't like her, she just… ugh."

The rest of the day went by quickly and because there really wasn't anything to do, we all just went back to the dorm.

_Yu's POV_

When we got back to the dorm, we all went up the stairs to the third room and took a seat.

After about fifteen minutes, Akihiko and Mitsuru came in.

Yukari-chan stood up, looking a little bit annoyed.

"Mitsuru-senpai, why'd you call us here?"

She smiled. "You'll see."

Akihiko yelled out into the hallway, calling for someone.

"Hurry up!" he shouted.

A reply came out from the hall. "Hold your horses… this is freaken' heavy…"

When the door opened in walked… Junpei?

Hamuko seemed a little surprised and Yukari's jaw dropped.

Junpei just smiled. "Heh heh. Wazzup?"

Yukari pointed in his direction. "Junpei?! What are you doing here?!"

Akihiko walked in front of him. "This is Junpei Iori. He'll be staying with us as of today. He has the potential, but he just woke up to it recently."

Yukari rolled her eyes and sighed. "YOU have the potential!? For REAL?!"

Junpei sighed deeply. "He found me cryin' like a baby, down at the convenience store and surrounded by coffins. He said that's completely normal in the beginning, like not remembering anything… stuff like that. Ya know?"

Minato-kun shook his head. "Didn't happen to me."

Junpei shrugged. "Seriously? Well it happens to everyone else, so…"

Following that, Ikutsuki walked into the room. "Alright, seeing as how everyone is here…" he began, "I'd like to make an announcement; starting tonight, at 12 AM, I request that we begin the exploration of Tartarus."

Junpei leaned his head a little. "Tartarus? What's that…? Sounds like toothpaste…"

Hamuko-chan giggled and Yukari sighed. "You haven't seen it, Junpei?" she said.

Ikutsuki grinned. "It's no surprise, since it only seeable during the Dark Hour."

Junpei spoke again. "The… Dark Hour?"

Akihiko grinned. "It's like a shadow nest. In other words, it's the perfect place for us to hone our abilities."

Junpei pumped his fist. "Sweet! Their nest huh?"

Mitsuru nodded. "There may be a clue in there about the Dark Hour, but Akihiko and I have only gone so far as the entrance."

Ikutsuki nodded. "That's why I would like you to explore it."

Mitsuru then looked at him. "You will remain here I presume, Mr. Chairman?"

Ikutsuki nodded. "As you know, I can't summon a persona…"

_Minato's POV_

Junpei paced around, obviously bored.

"THIS is Tartarus?"

Akihiko smiled. "Just wait a few minutes… it's almost midnight."

_11:59:56, 11:59:57, 11:59:58 11:59:59... 12:00:00_

_The Dark Hour is upon us._

As soon as the Dark Hour began, the school began to tear itself apart.

The main body remained intact but other parts conjoined together to form Tartarus… more accurately, the Tower of Demise; Nyx's guiding beacon.

All of us looked at the tower, mouths open.

I don't know why but for some reason, Tartarus felt different to me.

Usually it gives off a feeling of despair, but… not anymore.

It now felt like a feeling of demise.

I knew, however, that Nyx would arrive at the top.

And my destiny is to prevent that from happening.

Furthermore, I wasn't alone.

Two more bearers of the powerful **Wild Card **were going to fight alongside me.

If this doesn't work, then so be it. But if it does…

I can spend my entire life in peace, knowing that tomorrow will obviously arrive.

END OF CHAPTER 9

R&R people! If you have an idea for a social link OC, please leave it in your review or PM me :D

NOTE: Please check my profile page for OC submission info.


	11. Chapter 10: The First Block, Thebel

PERSONA 3 + 1

By Shunto

The first exploration of Tartarus!

Also, regarding OCs, I have a diagram on my profile. If you have an account, PM me with the details. If you're a guest, copy and paste it in your review.

Please enjoy :D

_Chapter 10: The First Block, Thebel_

_Hamuko's POV_

I was in shocked silence.

This was Tartarus? Our school turned into a giant tower!?

Junpei backed away before he spoke.

"This…is it? What the hell…?"

Mitsuru-senpai interrupted him. "This is Tartarus; a tower that only manifests during the Dark Hour."

Junpei just shook his head. "I don't care! What the hell happened to our school!?"

Senpai just looked down at the ground and Junpei sighed.

"So… you don't know either, huh?"

Senpai stayed quiet before speaking. "…No, I don't."

Yu-kun walked forward a bit. "It's pretty damn tall," he said.

Sanada-senpai nodded at his comment. "Yeah. Hopefully, we'll find some clues in there about the Shadows… and the Dark Hour as well."

I shivered. It was only April so the weather was a little chilly.

Onii-chan came over and patted my shoulder. "Don't worry," he said, "We're gonna be alright, sis."

I smiled and hugged him. "Thank you, onii-chan…"

_Minato's POV_

After my sister hugged me, the seven of us entered the tower.

Junpei was awestruck at the inside of the tower.

He grinned at the design. "Whoa… it's just as cool on the inside…"

Yukari frowned. "But it sure is creepy…"

Akihiko smiled. "Mitsuru and I have only gone so far as the entrance… this'll be our first time exploring it."

Mitsuru glared at him. "Need I remind you, Akihiko, that you'll not be accompanying the group today?"

He rolled his eyes. "I know, you don't need to remind me…"

He pulled his shirt over his shoulder and smiled but Yukari wasn't so happy.

"What if we get lost?" she said.

Akihiko smiled. "Don't worry. We'll be providing support from here. We're also going to appoint a leader to make any necessary decisions."

We all froze and Junpei was the first to break the silence.

"A leader…? Seriously? One of us!?"

He jumped a few times and raised his hand in the air, like a little kid asking for permission.

"Ohhh, me me me me! Pick me!"

Akihiko studied him for a bit and turned to me.

"Minato, you're in charge."

Junpei reeled back and glared at me.

"Wha-what!? Why him? He doesn't look like a leader!"

Yukari cut in. "Well, he and the other two have fought them before."

Junpei went wide-eyed. "Seriously?"

Akihiko nodded. "That's true, but there is another reason."

He turned to face Yukari and Junpei. "You two…" he said, raising his Evoker to his head.

"Can you summon your Persona without any difficulties, like he can?"

Junpei pumped his fist. "Y-yeah, of course I can!"

Yukari shivered. "I think so…"

Akihiko shook his head. "These are bona-fide Shadows we're talking about here. Without your Persona… you're screwed."

Yukari looked at him angrily. "I'm aware of that."

Mitsuru smiled. "First, we'll have the five of you wander around; get a feel for the place."

Junpei smiled. "Alright. Lead on, dude."

I glanced at the Velvet Room door, but restrained myself. We had just gone recently and we didn't need to go again. I nodded at everyone and the five of us- me, Hamuko, Yu, Junpei and Yukari- headed to the 2nd floor of Tartarus.

_Yu's POV_

Junpei was in awe when we arrived at the 2nd floor.

"So, this is it huh?"

That's when Mitsuru's voice came over our radios.

"Can you all hear me?" she said.

Junpei blinked. "Is-is that you, Senpai? You can see us?"

We heard a chuckle on the end and she continued. "It's my Persona's ability. I'll be providing audio backup from here on out. Stay focused everyone."

I grinned and we all walked through the inky darkness until Mitsuru's voice came over us again.

"There's a group of Shadows in front of you! Engage them!"

We charged forward and the shadows took form.

_Hamuko's POV_

As the shadows assumed their forms, I grabbed the naginata off my belt (it folds up) and held it in a battle stance as everyone else took out their weapons.

The enemy attacked first; crawling towards Junpei, it smacked him with its claws as he reeled back and kicked it away. Onii-chan took the initiative he pointed the Evoker to his head.

"Chosen!"

A sound of shattering glass rang out and Onii-chans Persona took form, burning the enemy with a fire spell; however, it remained alive. It glared at me as I began my summoning.

"Hemera!"

Blue shards flew out my left temple and my Persona manifested as it drew it's sword and cleaved the first shadow's mask in two.

Now there were three left.

Yu went next as he snatched his Evoker and summoned his persona.

"Izanagi!"

The blue mist around him exploded and his persona manifested, and a small lightning bolt dropped on the enemy.

Two more left.

Yukari looked at her evoker and pointed it at her forehead, closing her eyes and shivered.

She smiled a little and spoke. "Gotta be brave..."

Upon saying that, her persona took form as a young girl sitting on what seemed to be a bullhead, held by two chains from the horns.

My gaze shifted to the shadow as a green vortex formed under it, sending the shadow into the air and breaking it apart.

One more to go.

Junpei smirked and held his evoker to his head but shivered. He smiled a bit and spoke. "Dammit… I can't lose to them!"

With that line, his persona was awakened as what seemed to be a humanoid with golden wings. The shadow was dead instantly as his persona charged towards the shadow and cleaved it in half.

Our first battle had been won. But our training was far from complete.

_Yu's POV_

After our little encounter with the shadows, we proceeded through the halls, encountering more shadows, but they were no trouble for our Personas.

Eventually, we heard Mitsuru's voice again.

"That's odd… usually, there are more shadows… no matter. Good work. There should be an **access point **near your location. Find it and return here."

Hamuko saw a green pad and waved us over.

When we stepped into it, we found ourselves back at the entrance.

Junpei was panting, but his smile was huge.

"Man, that was freaken amazing! Who knew I had that kind of power!?"

Yukari sighed and folded her arms. "Easy for… you to say… you were jumping around… like a little kid…"

Minato looked at her, but Mitsuru interrupted him before he could speak.

"How are you feeling?"

He nodded. "Fine. It wasn't so bad."

Mitsuru chuckled softly. "If you've gained confidence, that's the best thing so far."

Junpei then fell over on his back. "Dammit, I'm beat…"

Yukari leaned against the wall. "Me too…"

Mitsuru sighed. "That's the effect of the Dark Hour; you'll get fatigued more easily."

In other words, we couldn't spend a lifetime in there, but we'd stay as long as we could.

I heard another voice in my head, and a card in front of my eyes as it glowed.

_**SOCIAL LINK RANK UP! Fool Rank II**_

Apparently, SEES was a Fool Arcana Social Link.

I though back to the investigation squad, and how our bonds grew the more we fought.

But Igor told me that the more bonds people with the Wild Card form, the stronger they get.

So I'd have to form new bonds with new people.

It didn't sound so bad, but I had no idea how many bonds Minato, Haruko and I would have to form.


	12. Chapter 11: New Faces, New Bonds

PERSONA 3 + 1

By Shunto

Please check my profile page for a very important update…

Enjoy.

_Chapter 11: New Faces, New Bonds_

_Minato's POV_

After our first exploration into Tartarus, it became clear that we would be more than enough of a challenge for the Shadows that roamed there.

Our first day back at school was interesting.

Actually, make that 'very interesting.'

I couldn't help but notice several new faces around the school; one being a kid nodding off two men dressed in tan suits-Mafia members? I wouldn't know…

Other people included what looked like a senior carrying a briefcase. Odd, considering the fact that I've never seen them before when I first did my journey. But that's a story for another time.

Of course, the assembly was first, so the five of us hustled over to the auditorium.

As the students speech dragged on, I looked around and sighed.

"…and that concludes my speech. Now, the student council president would like to share some word's with you."

Mitsuru stepped up to the podium and smiled. "Thank you."

Yukari looked over at me. "Wow, so she DID get elected. Well, I guess she is the popular girl in school…"

Junpei nodded. "You can say that again… there's like some kinda aura around her."

Yu frowned. "She's probably just trustworthy for the job. Besides, she told me that she's studying college-level material."

My sister gleamed happily. "Hey, she's starting! Let's listen!"

Mitsuru cleared her throat and looked at the crowd.

"As I begin my term as student council president, I'd like to share with each of you my vision for the coming year."

Everyone was gripped to her words as they flew out of her mouth like music on paper.

After a few minutes, she concluded her speech as she grinned at all of us.

All the students stood up and clapped and Junpei smiled. "Damn, that was freaken' amazing!"

He looked over at us. "So…do you three have any idea what she said?"

I nodded. "Yeah." Hamuko and Yu followed the same way.

Junpei went wide-eyed. "Seriously? Damn, you three are smart." He turned his attention back to Mitsuru. "Sure didn't sound like anything a high school student would say. If it was anyone else, we'd be laughing our asses off."

The day went by uneventfully, and eventually, Composition rolled around and I was seated at my desk, taking notes when Ms. Toriumi grabbed her book.

"Alright class," she said, "Today we'll be taking a look at a poem written by… ugh, why him…?"

She wasn't a big fan of the author on the page, and I could relate. Utsubo Kuobo had a much more poetic style of writing.

Eventually she came in front and cleared her throat.

"Hey! Junpei, are you listening? Who did I say was my favorite author?"

A bead of sweat rolled down his neck as he gulped. "W-well, I, uh…"

He looked over to Yu. "Psst! Who does she like?"

_Yu's POV_

I rolled my eyes at Junpei and looked at him. "Utsubo Kuobo."

He nodded and looked at Ms. Toriumi. "Uhhh… Utsubo Kuobo is your favorite author…?"

She nodded. "Very good, Junpei! You know, I might have to inform Ekoda about you. He seems to be too hard on you all the time."

Junpei laughed a bit. "Well, you know how I like to pay attention! Heh heh…" He leaned over to me and smiled. "Thanks Yu. I owe ya big-time!"

I grinned. "Don't mention it. We're friends right?"

He nodded. "Yeah! Friends we are, dude!"

_Hamuko's POV_

The day went by quickly and the four of us left school only to see Akihiko-senpai surrounded by a harem of woman. He sighed heavily and spotted us.

"Great timing you four. Come over to Paulownia Mall as soon as you can."

Junpei looked glum. "Huh? What about your friends?"

Akihiko frowned. "Who, these girls? They aren't my friends- hell, I don't even know their names. They talk to me so much I get a head-ache."

He walked off and the girls sighed. What losers, I thought. Don't they realize he's not the relationship type?

We all headed off to Paulownia and saw Akihiko enter a police station.

When we entered, he was talking to the officer behind the desk.

"Ah, here they are now. These are the guys I was just telling you about."

The officer gave us a rundown with his eyes; sizing us up.

Senpai turned to us and smiled. "This is Officer Kurosawa. He helps keep our squad well-equipped."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out four bags, handing each to us. "And this is from Ikutsuki-san…"

We all took one and looked inside to see… 5000 yen.

That wasn't even enough to buy the specials at Hagakure.

Junpei glared at him. "What do we need this for?"

Senpai sighed. "Even with your Personas, weapons are essential. You can't fight empty-handed. And you'll need money to get by, too."

Kurosawa nodded. "Of course. Nothing in life is free."

With that, Akihiko left and the four of us were alone with Kurosawa.

He spoke up, smiling at us. "I'm just an ordinary police officer, but it doesn't take a genius to know something strange is going on around here. I've had connections with SEES for a while now, and I know all about you. It's my job to keep the city safe."

We pooled together our money for a grand total of 20,000 yen. We each bought a new weapon; a Gladius for Onii-chan, a broadsword for Yu, a samurai sword for Junpei, a samurai naginata for me and a short bow for Yukari. With some money left over, we also bought some bulletproof vests.

We exited the store and returned to the dorm together.

_Minato's POV_

When we returned, Mitsuru smiled at us and gave us good news; we could now go out at night and also talk to her if we wanted to go to Tartarus.

Yu smiled and nodded his head as my sister did the same.

I went to Mitsuru and tapped her shoulder. "Mitsuru, I want to go to Tartarus tonight."

She smiled. "Very well… we'll meet at Tartarus around midnight. I'll see you there."

_11:59:56…11:59:57…11:59:58…11:59:59…12:00:00_

_DARK HOUR_

We entered Tartarus and got ready to explore. I went to the top of the stairs and waved down. "Mitsuru, we're ready to enter."

She nodded. "Good luck, everyone. One more thing… a few floors up, there's a barricade to prevent progression from that point on. Tonight, I want you to make it to that barricade please."

I nodded and pushed the doors open and stepped into Thebel.

END OF CHAPTER 11

Next time, the party will fight their first guardian shadows! The first old document will be discovered! A new power called the Dual Link will awaken! What does all this mean?! Why am I saying this!? I don't know!

Until next time!

Btw, I'm repairing the whole story to fix several things that have been pointed out.

The changed things so far

1. Haruko is now Hamuko, her japanese fan name.

2. I corrected the date from March to April.

If there's anything else that needs correcting, please notify me.


	13. Chapter 12: Priestess, Magician, Chariot

PERSONA 3 + 1

By Shunto

If you haven't read my profile update yet, please do so…

Anyways, we'll face our first few guardians and the team will also discover a mysterious document!

R&R please!

_Chapter 12: Priestesses, Magicians, and a Chariot_

_Minato's POV_

Mitsuru informed us a while ago that the structure of Tartarus changes from day to day; which is very true.

It's not called a labyrinth for nothing you know; but that's not important right now.

As the five of us entered the second floor, we carefully moved through the corridors until we found a small area with a giant stairwell in the middle-in other words, the way up.

We kept moving until Mitsuru interrupted us.

"Hang on a minute… I'll scan the upcoming floors."

There was silence for a few seconds and she came back. "There's a powerful presence on the 5th floor! If you don't want to push your luck, then return immediately."

By 'powerful presence' she means one of the many guardians that inhabit Tartarus' blocks- they were powerful Shadows that lurked on high floors, and were supposed to kill anyone who would try to get through the tower.

And as Mitsuru said, they are pretty damn powerful.

We proceeded through the floors. Some Shadows did jump us, but our powerful Personas took care of them quickly.

With each battle, our Personas gained more power; like experience points in a video game.

Eventually, they powered up to the point where they each learned a brand new skill.

_**(I'll put the stats of each Persona down at the bottom following chapters with battles or Fusions for Minato, Yu and Hamuko.)**_

After many battles, we came face-to-face with three giant bird Shadows each wearing a mask of the Priestess Arcana.

Mitsuru contacted us again and spoke. "Arisato, I know you can do it; don't falter in this battle!"

We rushed at the Shadows, weapons drawn, and in position. The three Priestess's were ready to kill; well, so were we.

Hamuko went first, as she raised her Evoker to her left temple.

"Hemera! Come forth!"

The gun-shaped Persona summoning device fired and Hemera cleaved one of the Shadows straight through its mask.

I went next, as I pulled out my Evoker and fired it at my right temple.

Chosen took the small cross-shaped sword and stabbed the shadow directly in its face.

They weren't so tough after all.

Yu finished the last one off with a small thunder bolt-Zio- and ended the battle.

Mitsuru's voice came over our headsets and began to speak.

"All of you have the potential to become even stronger!"

That we did, Mitsuru. That we did.

_Hamuko's POV_

We rushed past the small area that the shadows protected and found a treasure chest containing a…bead?

I shrugged, picked it up anyway and rejoined the group as we ascended the stairs.

A few more floors up, Mitsuru informed us that she detected another powerful presence on floor 10.

We cut our way through the shadows that were stupid enough to get in our way and finally reached the 10th floor.

This time, it was one of those dancing hands but they had a RING on their fingers.

They approached us and the battle began.

Hemera was pretty much the only one who acted, as they all had a weakness to Agi.

We grabbed the next chest(which, of ALL things, contained Soma), and ascended the next stairway.

Later on, Mitsuru informed us, once again, that there was one more powerful presence on the 14th floor… when we were on the 13th floor.

Nice timing, Senpai.

Of course, this didn't stop us from fighting it-whose form I will NEVER forget.

Mitsuru informed us that it was a Chariot Arcana shadow, and that it apparently had a resistance to all of our Physical Skills. That meant we had to rely on our magic.

As we flung spell after spell at the guardian shadow, it seemed easy at first; and then it got the opportunity to strike back.

It moved towards Yukari, and swung it's huge wheel at her; I thought she would be killed, but Onii-chan's face went pale with fright and then turned red with rage towards the Shadow, as Chosen launched a small orb of light, obliterating the shadow completely.

He went over to Yukari and cast Recarm. She got up, grabbed Onii-chan's arm and got up.

With that done, we ascended the final stairwell, only to be confronted by a green wall with school desks piled on top of each other; this effectively blocked our path, but we did notice a small chest. I opened it and found a small folder with several papers in it; I didn't know what to do with them, so I put them away in my shoulder pack and took the teleport pad back down to the entrance.

As we began to pack up and head back to the dorm, I felt that my bond with Yu-kun had gotten somewhat more powerful.

"_KA-RACK!"_

_Thou art I… And I am thou…_

_Thou hast established a new, genuine bond…_

_Thou shalt be blessed when thoust create a Persona of the World Arcana…_

With that said, Yu looked down and sighed before heading out with me.

Igor told me before I arrived that bonds that Yu and I forge would affect the power of all three of us.

I needed to forge many bonds so all of us could become incredibly strong.

_END OF CHAPTER 12_

In the next chapter, Hamuko goes out with Junpei! The group of three join Student Council! Kendo, Swim and Tennis meets begin! And to top it all off, a French Transfer student arrives!

Peace all!


	14. Chapter 13: Devil, Magician, Hanged Man

PERSONA 3 + 1

By Shunto

I forgot to put the Persona info at the end of the last chapter .

So here it is.

_Minato Arisato_

Persona: Chosen

Arcana: Fool

Repel: Light

Weak: Dark

Current Level: 7

Skill List

Agi: Deal light fire damage/1 enemy

Dia: Recover 20% of HP/1 ally

Recarm: Revive with 50% HP/1 KO'd ally

Cleave: Deal light Slash damage/1 enemy

_Hamuko Arisato_

Persona: Hemera

Arcana: Fool

Repel: Fire

Block: Light

Weak: Ice, Dark

Current Level: 7

Skill List

Maragi: Deal light fire damage/all enemies

Hama: Light element; chance of instant kill(low odds, 1 enemy)

Media: Recover 20% HP/all allies

Kill Rush: Pierce damage, x2 hits/1 enemy

_Yu Narukami_

Persona: Izanagi

Arcana: Fool

Repel: Electricity

Weak: Wind

Current Level: 8

Skill List

Zio: Light Elec damage/1 enemy; chance of Shock

Mazio: Light Elec damage/all enemies; chance of Shock

Tarukaja: Boost Attack/1 ally

_Yukari Takeba_

Persona: Io

Arcana: Lovers

Block: Wind

Weak: Electricity

Current Level: 6

Skill List

Dia: Recover 20% HP/1 ally

Patra: Dispel Fear, Distress or Panic/1 ally

Garu: Deal light Wind damage/1 enemy

_Junpei Iori_

Persona: Hermes

Arcana: Magician

Block: Fire

Weak: Wind

Skill List

Cleave: Deal light Slash damage/1 enemy

Re Patra: Assist 1 ally who's been knocked down

Agi: Deal light fire damage/1 enemy

Ok, now that this is outta the way, let's jump into the story.

Sorry if it's so long. .

PS: If anything in the fic confuses you, feel free to post your question in the review! I'll provide my answer in the next chapter!

_Chapter 13: The Devil, the Magician and The Hanged Man_

_Yu's POV_

With our first 'block' of Tartarus finished, we had a ton of breathing time; we had little to no idea when the barrier would lift, so we could use this time to relax and study.

After school ended, I saw Junpei walk over to Hamuko and began to talk to her.

It wasn't hard to figure that he was asking her out, so I just walked out of the room and began to head back to the dorm.

There wasn't much to do anyway.

When I got back, Mitsuru told me that I've gotten my own room; I was excited to see it, so I got my stuff from Minato's room and moved it to my new dorm room.

After moving, there wasn't much more to do, so I put on a t-shirt and sweat pants, brushed my teeth and collapsed on the bed before drifting off to a peaceful dream.

_Earlier that day…_

_Hamuko's POV_

Just as I was packing up, Junpei-kun approached my desk with a bright, cheerful smile.

"Hey, Hamuko. You doin' anything later?"

I shook my head. "No, I'll probably just go to Paulownia and browse around. Why?"

"Well, I was hoping you could tag along with me for some ramen."

I got up and smiled. "Sure, but are you… extorting a date out of me?"

He looked shocked. "Wha-!? No, no no… I just wanna get to know ya better. Is that bad…?"

I giggled. "Just teasing ya. Sure, let's go."

_Later…_

We entered the Hagakure Ramen Shop and found a table as Junpei waved over a server. "Two specials, please."

I smiled. "Specials?"

"The normal stuff is okay, but the special?" He leaned forward. "Pure. Awesome."

Our food arrived and we digged in while making friendly chat before Junpei brought something up.

"I heard that Minato got knocked out after summoning his Persona… I was kinda worried about him, since he's your brother and all…"

I blushed. "R-really? That's…pretty kind of you, Junpei…"

He turned a little red and looked away. "O-of course! He's a cool guy and really tough too! I'm kinda jealous you have him as a brother… pretty cool…"

I smiled as we finished our ramen before a voice rang out in my head.

_Thou art I… And I am thou…_

_Thou hast established a genuine bond…_

_Thou shalt be blessed when thoust create a Persona of the Magician Arcana…_

So Junpei was the Magician Link? That wasn't too hard to figure out.

I walked to the dorm with him and went to bed when we got back.

_Earlier that day…_

_Minato's POV_

I decided to head off to the Naganaki Shrine to pray; give blessings to my friends, and of course, my sister and Yu.

After my prayer, I picked up my stuff and was just about ready to head off when I saw two girls playing together; one was pretty young-probably around 10 or 11. The other girl was older, most likely in her teen years- around my age. I put my stuff on the ground and walked over.

"Hey, what're you doing?" I asked.

The girls stopped playing and looked at me. The younger one smiled. "We're playing! You wanna play too?"

I nodded. "Sure, what do you wanna do?"

She motioned over to the monkey bars. "Let's climb!"

The young girl began climbing the bars before sitting at the top.

Just as I was about to go up, the other girl came up to me.

"Can I have your name please?"

I smiled. "Minato Arisato. I'm a junior at Gekkoukon High School. What's yours?"

She grinned and folded her arms. "Shinjuku Haruaki. But please, call me Shinji. All my friends do."

I nodded. "Gotcha."

The younger girl waved at us. "Come on, you slowpokes! The views great up here!"

I snickered and climbed up before looking at Shinji. "You coming up too?"

She nodded. "Sure!"

The three of us then sat on the monkey bars, watching the sunset before Shinji lept down. "Hey, it's not that late, yet."

She looked at me. "Sorry, I have exams in a few days so I gotta go home early." Just before she left she turned. "Oh yeah, can I have your phone number?"

I nodded. "Sure." We exchanged our numbers and she smiled. "Let's hang out together again sometime, 'kay?"

When she said that, I felt a slight bond form between us...

And then, I heard a voice within my head.

_Thou art I. And I am thou._

_Thou hast established a new bond._

_Thou shalt be blessed whenever thoust create a Persona of the Devil Arcana._

The girl was the Devil? But wasn't that Tanaka?

As I regained my vision, she was gone and the younger girl looked at me. "Mister, can you come play with me tomorrow? I wanna get to know you better."

I leaned down. "I promise."

She grinned. "Alright! You better not be lying!"

I laughed, picked up my stuff and returned to the dorm before going to bed.

Chapter 13 done! R&R please!

Astrodynamic, your OC is good to go! Please tell me how you think she acted in this chapter!

Until next time!


	15. Chapter 14: Arcana Priestess

PERSONA 3+1

By Shunto

NOTE: I'm doing a time skip later in this chapter; going to May 9th for the 1st Full Moon Operation.

Just be aware of that as you read.

_Chapter 14: Arcana Priestess and a Friendly Classmate_

_Minato's POV_

After class let out, I was writing in my journal when a student-classmate, actually- came up to my desk.

Earlier this morning, I had talked to him about Yukari, and he looked pretty happy.

"Hey dude, I'm gonna go get some ramen. You wanna come with?"

I smiled. "Sure, but why?"

Kenji(that's his name) looked at me with a smile. "I dunno; every day after class, I always go for ramen… and I was hoping we could finish that conversation we started this morning."

I smiled and nodded. "Alright, where're we going?"

_Later, Hagakure Ramen Shop…_

The two of us sat at the bar eating our special order and Kenji was obviously enjoying himself. He put his chopsticks down after a bit and smiled.

"Man, I CANNOT get enough of this place!"

I looked at him. "Why's that?"

He got a serious look and stared at me. "The ramen here has a perfect blend with the soup. They must use some special ingredient. Something no other ramen shop uses…"

He looked up at me and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, sorry dude… I get all geeked up whenever I eat here. Am I boring you with my speech…?"

I shook my head calmly. "Of course not, Kenji. I have to agree with your view on this food."

He looked surprised. "Huh? You actually mean that you can taste and appreciate the subtle, yet almost distinct flavor of the soup? It's odd… you don't look like the kinda guy I'd hang out with, but looks aren't everything, right?"

He went back to eating and after he finished the last of his noodles, he turned to me. "Ya know, we should hang out again sometime. I've got this secret plan for a girlfriend, dude. You're gonna flip when you hear it!"

I smiled. Kenji's 'plan' was to ask a teacher out- Emeri Kanou, a slut of a woman and a disgrace of a teacher at the school. She led him on and let it 'slip' out that she and Kenji were dating.

But I couldn't tell him that yet. When the time came, I'd confront her alone.

Just as I finished, the inner voice rang, but it said something…different.

_Thou art I. And I am thou._

_Two bonds of the same Arcana hath been forged._

_Whenever a Persona of the Magician Arcana is created…_

_It shall receive unparalleled power._

_Use it wisely._

Two bonds have been forged?

I didn't get it.

Kenji must have noticed I was out there, because he waved his hand in front of my eyes.

"Dude, you there?"

I shook my head a few times and looked at him. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Something wrong?"

He smirked. "Nah. By the way-" he checked his watch and his jaw dropped. "What!? It's nighttime already!? I missed my favorite TV show!"

He let out a breath of defeat and we left the store together. Before we parted ways he pulled his phone out.

"Hey, can I have your number? Maybe we can hang out again some time."

I nodded. "Sure. Let's exchange."

We sent each other our phone numbers and waved goodbye as we went our separate ways home.

On my way back, I stopped at Paulownia Mall to get some coffee at Chagall and saw Shinji. But I didn't talk to her.

The reason is because she looked uneasy. I didn't want to make it worse.

_Time jump: April 24th to May 9th_

Almost a few days ago-nearly a week- Pharos had come to my room to inform me that the first full moon-second actually, but we'd be fighting Arcana Priestess that day- was about to arrive.

Speaking of my room, Yu got his own- so he moved out.

Not that I mind; there are some things that I don't want him to see.

After class, there wasn't anything to do, and to be on the safe side, we all went back to the dorm.

_Dark Hour_

_Hamuko's POV_

I was sleeping in my bed, peacefully when an alarm sounded throughout the dorm. I woke up, grabbed my naginata and put it on my belt and ran to the command room.

Senpai told me that the alarm meant that a shadow had been found outside of Tartarus.

And there was no way we could leave it be.

When I arrived, everyone else was there and ready to go.

Junpei pumped his fist. "Where is it!? I'll rip it a new one!"

Mitsuru looked at us and spoke. "We've found a Shadow outside of Tartarus. It's a big one too. People don't know about the Dark Hour..." Her face turned grim. "But if half the city is destroyed, there WILL be panic. I need you five to find and destroy that Shadow before anything happens!"

She then turned and faced Onii-chan. "Arisato, you're in charge. Don't let us down."

He nodded. "Got it."

Junpei looked a little upset, but almost immediately went happy again. "Don't let us down, dude!"

He smiled and the five of us went to our destination; Tatsumi Port Island Station.

As we waited on the steps, Yukari walked back and forth and Junpei finally spoke. "Come on, Yuka-tan, calm down..."

She looked at him. "I guess your right." She looked up to see the full moon. "It's a full moon tonight... but it looks even creepier during the Dark Hour..."

Eventually, we heard the sound of an engine as Mitsuru-senpai rolled up on a motercycle.

"To reach the shadow, you have to walk on the tracks; it's on the monorail."

Junpei turned white. "We'll get killed!"

She smiled. "Don't worry; no electronics work during the Dark Hour."

I frowned. "What about your bike?"

She looked at me. "It's special. I'll provide support from here; good luck."

_Yu's POV_

The five of us headed into the monorail and looked around.

Junpei looked around and saw a coffin; it was a person who was Transmogrofied.

He leaned in front of him and sighed. "Damn... this poor stiff must have been a passenger... he got transmogged..."

Hamuko giggled. "Transmogged... (suppressed laugh)"

Junpei looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Yukari sighed. "Junpe-"

All of the sudden, the doors closed and we heard a click.

We had been locked in!

Minato and Junpei ran to a door and tried to yank it open, but nothing happened.

Mitsuru's voice came over our headsets with a worried tone in her voice.

"What happened!?"

Yukari spoke into her microphone. "W-we've been locked in!"

There was a sigh on the other end. "I see... head to the front of the monorail and find the control panel; with luck, maybe you'll find the Shadow there as well."

Minato smiled. "Gotcha. We're heading there now."

He waved us forward and we charged through the monorail.

But something wasn't right; for one, there were no Shadows anywhere.

Eventually, we reached the fourth car and a Muttering Tiara dropped in front of us.

Yukari gasped with fright.

"There it is!" Junpei exclamed. But before we could anything, it turned around and fled to the front of the train.

He ran forward but stopped as Mitsuru spoke up. "Wait! Something doesn't seem right."

I stopped and began to speak. "What do you mean?"

She cleared her throat and spoke. "The enemy is acting strangely. It might not be wise to proceed in this situation."

Junpei frowned. "But it's getting away!"

There was a exhale of breath on the other end. "Minato, what do you think?"

He paused and looked ahead. "I say we go after it!"

Yukari recoiled. "But that could be what the enemy wants!"

Junpei glared at us. "Who cares about your advice!? Hell, I'll do it myself!"

With that, he ran ahead, but Hamuko grabbed his arm. "Junpei! Please, don't go ahead!"

He tore his arm from her and looked at her eyes. "Don't talk to me! I'll prove that I can be the leader!"

Junpei ran to the next car, and Hamuko dashed after him.

We all ran after them and found the two engaged in a fight with some Shadows, but before we got close, they were gone.

Yukari stomped forward and slapped Junpei across the face. "What the HELL were you thinking!? You could have been killed!"

He glared at her. "I-I..."

All of the sudden, the monorail began to move and Hamuko looked scared. "Uh...guys? We're moving!"

Mitsuru came through to us again. "What's happening!?"

Minato grabbed his microphone and shouted. "The trains moving! The enemy has it under their control!"

Mitsuru gasped. "This isn't good! If we don't stop it, it'll crash into another train!"

Yukari fell to her knees. "What!? We're gonna die!"

I helped her up and Minato grabbed her shoulder. "No we won't! We're a team! We'll get through this... together!"

She nodded. "Yeah..."

We nodded and raced to the front, knocking away smaller enemies as we did so.

And then, we finally reached the front of the train.

_Minato's POV_

__This was our first full moon operation battle; Arcana Priestess.

It glared at us, with a wide smile on it's lips, possibly wondering how we made it to her.

Junpei looked up at her. "Is this the friggen' boss!?"

Mitsuru came through and spoke. "Good luck. You can do it!"

We charged forward and it simply smiled as it endured our assault.

"Chosen!"

A small burst of fire damaged her, but it wasn't enough to kill her.

"Hemera!"

Several bursts of flame went all over her body and severely burnt her, but she still stood.

"Izanagi!"

The spear went through her body and I could tell she was almost done.

"Hermes!"

Junpei's Magician Persona dashed forward, slicing her arm.

"Io!"

A gale of wind formed underneath her body and sent her up and back down.

She was at death's door; we just had to knock.

We all raised our Evokers to our heads and yelled simultaneously,

"PERSONA!"

All of our Personas appeared and cast a single powerful spell that obliterated the Shadow, ending the battle.

_Through battle, our heroes have gained experience!_

_Everyone's Persona has gained another level!_

_The Personae are now all level 10!_

_Chosen has learned Cross Blade!_

_Hemera has learned Light Ray!_

_Izanagi has learned Crushing Spear!_

_Hermes has learned Kill Rush!_

_Io has learned Garula!_

__But it wasn't over yet.

The train began to pick up speed and Junpei began to panic.

"How do we stop this damn thing!?"

I ran forward and pulled a lever as Yukari screamed.

And we stopped.

The battle has been won and we survived on top of that.

As we left the train, I knew our bond had grown yet deeper.

And this marked the end of our Full Moon Operation.

END OF CHAPTER 14!

Tell me what you thinked! Did you like the battle? What about the level up description?

Please tell me in your reviews!

As Mitsuru would say...

Adie-!

Mitsuru: What do you think you're doing?

Me: Ah! M-M-Mitsuru! I, uh...

Mitsuru: I don't appreciate people mocking me! It's time for your execution!

Me: Ahhhh! SOMEBODY ANYBODY HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL LPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!

_Please standby. We are having technical difficulties._


	16. Chapter 15: A Date and a Warning

PERSONA 3 + 1

By Shunto

Review replies:

larlz: I can't do spoilers like that. Sorry.

13TheAce: Full Moon Operations are hard to describe cause when I play the game, I blaze through them easily(my party is overleveled v.v). So… yeah.

Astrodynamix: Thanks for the review! Shirikawa Boulevard will be pretty hard to do because of the many possibilities, so I'll be working on that as I go.

Minako the Dragon Maiden of DW: I hope so too...

Toon663: Elaborate? Sure!

Cross Blade: Chosen's sword glows in the shape of a crucifix and cleaves the enemy three times for light Slash damage. Effect boosted on Full Moons.

Light Ray: Hemera generates an orb of pure, holy light and fires it at the shadows. Deals fire damage. Effect boosted if user is low on HP.

Crushing Spear: Izanagi drives his spear into the earth and raises sharp rocks around a shadow, dealing medium Strike damage.

Anonymous: Well, battle scenes are one of my weaknesses. :( I'll try and reconfigure it this weekend.

Omegaxis1: More or less, I'll use regular tactics, if possible, for battle scenes.

Now that that's done- oh right. I own no rights whatsoever to the Persona or SMT Franchise. They are the rightful properties of ATLUS Entertainment.

Remember to R&R!

_Chapter 15: A Date and a Warning_

_Minato's POV_

__I could barely find the strength to get out of bed the next morning, but that was the consequence of being able to act during the Dark Hour. It was just as Mitsuru told us; it drains our stamina by tenfold, therefore making us tired provided we explore Tartarus too long or complete a Full Moon Operation. But I wouldn't let it get me down! I had to perform this flawlessly... Yukari depended on me. I wouldn't let a simple lack of stamina draw me back from true love and many more things.

Of course, midterms were approaching fast, but I had nothing to worry about; I could tell ANYONE Pi to the 100th decimal place I was that smart. I couldn't wait to see Yu's and my sister's scores though. If anything, we'd be on the same level or they might be better; either way, like I said, I could not wait.

I dragged my body off the mattress, and performed my normal routine; teeth brushing, school uniform, shoulder pack and quickly put on the news to see if we'd missed anything last night. Nothing was announced as suspicious, and that made me feel a LOT better. With that out of the way, I headed down the stairs and walked to school like usual.

When we got there, Yu looked almost half-dead; his eyes were partly closed and he was walking so slow. I guess it would take some time for him to get adapted to the Dark Hour's effect on the human body, but I knew that sooner or later, he'd get used to it... hopefully. The bell rang and we entered the school, heading to our respective classrooms. When we got there, our class was Language with our homeroom teacher, Ms. Toriumi. I sat my stuff on the ground and payed attention.

_Yu's POV_

__I had enough trouble keeping my eyes open I was so tired. The teachers words were muffled out and I couldn't tell what she was writing on the board was English or Japanese. Eventually, my vision began to blur and if I stayed awake any longer I'd probably pass out. Instead, I placed my head on my binder, slowly drifting off to sleep... I guess Junpei was right; apparently sleeping during class DOES 'revitalize' you! I felt like I could take on the world! But, sadly, I missed the whole lecture, so I'd probably be screwed if this showed up on an exam...

Class drew to an end, as well as the day. What was odd though, was that periodically throughout class I took glances at Hamuko. Even though I have a girlfriend who I love very VERY much, I did, back in Tartarus, feel a slight bond form between us. I felt that it was only right to nurture it, and gain power for the three of us. I picked my stuff up and walked over to her desk. "Hey, uh... Hamuko-chan?" She looked up at me with a bright smile. "What's up, Yu-kun? Do you need something?" I scratched my head a little and looked down. "You, uh... wanna walk home together? We can stop by somewhere on the way..." She grinned, gathered her stuff and sat up. "Sure! Let's go before it gets dark." She grabbed my arm and began dragging me along with her as some of the guys in the hallway looked at me with pure rage.

We left the school grounds and headed towards the Paulownia Mall. I thought about taking her to the Hagakure, but she said that Yukari showed her a place that she was DYING to show me. We entered a small shop near the police station and a sign above it read "Chagall Cafe." We both entered and Hamuko went up to the waiter. "Table for two please." The man nodded and led us to our seats before setting us up with our menus. I decided to order a regular black coffee(my uncle Dojima likes it and so do I) while Hamuko ordered something called Pheromone Coffee. I was confused at first. "What the hell is Pheromone Coffee?" Hamuko looked at me oddly. "Your joking? You've NEVER heard of this? Pheromone Coffee is Chagall Cafe's primary beverage!" I shrugged. "This is my first time here, so..." That was a lie, obviously. In my timeline, during the second semester, me and the rest of the Investigation Team went to Tatsumi Port Island for a class trip which was actually a ploy; in reality, we ended up attending a class at Gekkoukon High instead and our homeroom teacher had us stay at this crappy hotel on Shirakawa Boulevard.

Hamuko sipped her coffee and sighed. "Hey... are there any girls you like in your... timeline?" I blushed. "U-um... what makes you say that Hamuko-chan...?" She looked at me with a serious look in her eyes. "Please... I wanna know. I won't tell anyone." I looked down and slugged my coffee before taking a deep breath. "Look... I really can't tell you..." She looked sad and returned to sipping her coffee. "It's okay. I won't pry anymore. Some things are best left secret, right Yu-kun?" I blushed even harder than before and couldn't find the right words. So instead, I simply nodded. Hamuko rolled her eyes whilst giggling softly. "Hey, let's hang out again sometime. You don't mind do ya?" I shrugged and smiled. "Of course. Here's my phone number. Call me up if you've got time..." We exchanged cell numbers and went back to the dorm.

_Hamuko's POV_

__I was exhausted when we got back and the only one who actually looked fine was Yu... maybe cause he was sleeping in class... why didn't I try that? I glanced right and saw my brother talking with Mitsuru and I decided to listen in on their conversation. "...Arisato... have you been monitoring everyone's conditions? Everyone seems tired, and it would be unwise to explore Tartarus on a day like that..." Onii-chan rubbed his head. "I know, Mitsuru. But has there been a change in Tartarus' energy as of yet?" She looked puzzled and bit her nail. "Now that you mention it... through Penthesilea's power, the barrier on Tartarus' first block has been removed. Why do you ask?" Onii-chan shrugged and yawned. "Uhh... no reason... I'm beat... night everyone." Junpei looked up from his magazine and nodded. "'Night dude. Hey, if you're feeling shitty, let me know... I'm there for ya." Onii-chan chuckled and nodded. "Thanks, Junpei... you're a real friend, you know that?" Junpei grinned and returned to his magazine. I decided to hit the hay as well and went to my room on the third floor while Yu-kun and Onii-chan went to their respective rooms on the second floor. I climbed into my bed, closed my eyes and began to think about last nights battle.

_Minato's POV_

__I didn't expect to hear the sudden 'fading in' of Pharos. His next arrival... shouldn't that have been near the day when we would go look for Fuuka? I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and lo and behold, Pharos was sitting on my bed with a smile on his face. "Hi. It's good to see that all of you are okay after the first trial." I looked at him. "It was cake. What brings you here?" He chuckled and walked over to me. "I came to warn you... that the next trial will not be easy... in fact, creatures from the other timeline will arrive to bring misfortune upon you all..." I looked at him, puzzled by his strange choice of words. "You mean... Yu's timeline...?" Pharos nodded. "I think so... please be careful. I'm worried about you." I gripped his shoulder and he looked puzzled. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." He nodded, smiling at me. "Good night... till we meet again..." He disappeared and I was left with more questions than answers. This year... was my last chance. I will succeed... for everyone's sake.

Chihiro... Yuko... Bebe... Kenji and Kaz... Hidetoshi... Keisuke... Maiko and Akinari... Nozumi... Mamoru... Bunkichi and Mitsuko... Maya aka Ms. Toriumi... Maiko... Mutatsu and even Tanaka...

I couldn't fail them... I WILL succeed.


	17. Chapter 16: A Letter and a Flashback

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 + 1

By Shunto

Firstly, allow me to start off by saying this; I love you guys and your reviews.

Okay, maybe love is a wee too extreme, but that doesn't change the fact that I truly appreciate it.

Out of ALL of you, I give special thanks already.

First, let's give a round of applause to Omegaxis1 for his ideas and the amount of influence that his Megaman story's battle scenes may have on mine.

Second, a big round of applause to Toon663 for all his amazing reviews. He really gave me a lot of insight to my writing style so far.

Third, LightFragnance for her wonderful reviews and three AMAZING OCs that will definitely show up in this story.

Fourth, Minako the Dragon Maiden of DW for the very interesting ideas she gave and the comment from chapter 15 about Mitsuru. Made me crack up. XD

Fifth, Infernity VS for the EXTREMELY detailed OC he submitted! I love the idea and I totally think I should give it to Yu. Thanks, VS! :D

Sixth, Astrodynamix for agreeing to review every new chapter and for submitting the very first OC I put in the story so far!

And finally, Iarlz, for all the wonderful questions you ask me!

With that outta the wa- oops. Almost forgot…

DISCLAIMER

I don't own Persona, ATLUS, or any other games this company owns. Wish I did, though we can't be that lucky.

* * *

_Chapter 16: A Letter and a Flashback_

_Yu's POV_

I woke up the next morning and couldn't help but take out my bag from under my bed. I unzipped it and rummaged through it until I found a small ring. It was a gift from a very close friend of mine. I put it on and smiled. What a wonderful Christmas that day was…

I stood up, grabbed my backpack and went down to the lobby to wait for the rest of the group. Apparently, they sleep in. I sat on the couch, pulled out my cell phone and started listening to some music that Minato gave me.

_I Will_

_Burn My Dread…_

_Burn My Dread…_

_Burn My Dread…_

_Burn My Dread…_

_It's no mans land_

_No man ever survived_

_Invisible Hands are behind you just now_

_If you ever win that_

_Race against rage then_

_You the king 'cause it's No Mans Land._

_Mask is in heavy rain_

_Ultimately slain_

_Make shadows slaves_

_What we done is in vain_

_Carrying AK-47_

_24/7_

_But you gotta live it persecuted by heaven_

_Comes from the direction_

_No indication…_

As I listened to the rest of the song, the team started to come down and I turned off my phone. "Ready to go," I asked. Mitsuru smiled and nodded. "Of course, Narukami. Lead the way." I glanced at Minato and he shrugged before putting on his headphones and walking past me. While we walked towards the monorail station, I pondered on an event that happened last night… kind of a ritual for me, even though I know the case is long shut.

The Midnight Channel.

Supposedly, it was this 'rumor' which said that if you stare into a turned off TV on a rainy night, you'll see another person who's supposed to be your soul mate.

What a load of bullshit that was.

In actuality, whoever appeared on the Midnight Channel had become famous through the media in some form. And this guy- Taro Namatame- thought those people would die. He was right- people who appeared on the channel would be thrown in by him and if we failed to rescue them, they WOULD die.

Last night was raining harder than I ever remembered…

The clock struck twelve and I turned off the TV and flopped on the bed. The TV let on a fuzzy screen and no one appeared. I sighed. "What the hell am I doing…? It's only 2009…" The TV returned to normal and I closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep.

I STILL don't know why I tried the whole Midnight Channel thing. Two things were wrong with it. One; no electric equipment is active during the Dark Hour, and two; I wasn't even in Inaba. I kept thinking about it until we reached the train stop. We all got on and about 15 minutes later, we arrived at the school gates. I saw Minato diverge off the group to go talk with another student, so I paid no attention to it.

* * *

_Minato's POV_

I slowly inched away from the group towards Kenji and I tapped his shoulder. He looked at me and grinned. "What's up, dude," I chuckled. "Not much. Hey, how are things going with you and Emeri?" Kenji smiled. "Awesome! Thanks to you dude!" I sighed. He was too ecstatic. When the time came, I WILL confront her.

I looked up and smiled. "Life doesn't get any better than this, huh? Fresh air, nice school…" Kenji laughed. "You bet, dude. The air's clean, the school's awesome and I've got a killer girlfriend!" We laughed with each other until, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a person on the clock tower of the school. He was looking straight at me. Before I could try and deduce his identity, Kenji waved his hand in front of me. "Dude, you alright…?" I shook my head.

"Y-yeah… I'm fine… hey, can you tell Ms. Toriumi I'll be late for class? I'm not feeling so hot…"

Kenji nodded. "Of course, man. Don't worry. I'll let her know you'll be out for a bit." I shook his hand and walked away from school and to the shrine.

In actuality, I was ditching class. I didn't feel well for some reason and I didn't want to worry everyone.

I arrived at the shrine and the girl from before, Shinji, was sitting on a nearby bench. She looked over at me and waved. "Yooo! Minato!" I waved back and sat down by her. "What's up, Shinji?" She smiled.

"Two things; One, from now on, call me Shinju."

I raised one of my eyebrows. "I-I see… the other thing?" She bit her lip.

"Do you, um, like sweets…?"

I rolled my eyes and she turned red. "H-hey! Don't roll your eyes like that!" I looked down and smiled.

"In answer to your question, I'll eat sweets sometimes. I like 'em though."

She sighed. "I see… hey, why're you ditching class? Stomach ache?" I looked away. "Uh, yeah. Something like that…" She got up.

"Hey, lunchtimes coming up. Maybe we can sneak in before then. Can we stop by the sweets shop on the way?"

I nodded. "Sure, let's make it quick though."

We later came out of the sweet shop both of us holding a candy apple. She took a big bite of hers and smiled. "Oh yeah, that's the stuff… love it!" I laughed.

"Wow, I didn't know you liked sweets THAT much, Shinju." She laughed and slightly turned red. "Y-yeah. I really, really like them…"

I noticed her blush and she hid her face to hide further embarrassment. Suddenly, I heard a small shattering of glass and the Devil card appeared before my eyes, and turned slightly brighter. My Social Link with Shinju had advanced.

She looked at her wrist and her eyes widened. "Oh crap! We're SO late! Run!" I threw my apple in the trash and took a mad dash through the strip mall with Shinju and managed to catch the last monorail to Port Island Station. We arrived at school just in time for lunch to let out and I waved Shinju off.

I entered the building and the first thing to greet me was the LAST person I wanted to see; Mitsuru. I felt a bead of sweat roll down my back as she folded her arms and looked at me. "Hello, Arisato. Ditching class I see." I turned red and walked up to her. "I can expl-" She rolled her eyes and walked towards me.

"No need. Tomochika told me that you weren't feeling well. But you should get to class before Ekoda finds you-" At that moment her eyes narrowed to her left and she pointed right. "Go. Run." I looked left and Ekoda was looking straight at me. "Ditching class, I see! That's in rule for suspension!" He walked towards me and I took a mad dash down the laboratory hallway as Ekoda's boots stomped the ground. "Get back here, Arisato!" All of the sudden I saw Mitsuru leap behind him and hit him with a right hook to the side.

I stopped running and turned around. "M-Mitsuru... what the hell...?" She grinned. "He'll learn. I only knocked him out." I nodded and before leaving, I spat on Ekoda's unconscious body. Mitsuru glared at me. "That was highly uncalled for, Arisato." I shrugged. "Sorry... I just can't stand the damn man." As I walked away, only one sentence went through my head. "Take that, you son of a bitch."

I managed to sneak into class and Ms. Toriumi spotted me at my desk. "Well, look who decided to join us!" I turned red and looked at her as she cleared her throat.

"As I was saying... does anyone know what a comma splice is?... Minato, how about you?" I nodded and stood up. "Tell me, which sentence on the board is incorrect?

I scanned the board and saw three sentences, each saying the same thing. The one in the middle looked highly incorrect. "The one in the middle."

Ms. Toriumi smiled and gleamed at me. "Very good, Minato! You'd make a great composition teacher someday!" I nodded and sat back down. The rest of the day passed uneventfully until after school...

As I was just about to leave the building, a voice came over the PA System. _"Minato Arisato, please report to the Faculty Office at once, please. A letter has arrived for you." _A letter? For me? I was a little surprised but I shrugged and made my way to the office.

I pushed the doors open and Ms. Toriumi smiled at me. "Hello, Minato. A letter came in for you." She reached for a small yellow envelope on the counter and handed it to me. I could have sworn as I turned away that she turned slightly red, but I knew why; she had a crush on me. More on that later.

I left the office and while no one was looking, I opened the envelope and found a piece of paper. On it was a sentence.

_I've been watching you. Your power is strong, but not perfect._  
_If you can't hone it by the end of the year, everything you hold so dear will be lost in the darkness forever._

I nearly dropped my bag. It wasn't the first sentence... that I was used to. But lost in the darkness forever...? Does that mean... even WITH the three wild card users... I won't be able to change my fate? I punched the wall and felt a tear run down my face... Yukari... I stopped crying and looked up. Igor wouldn't give me this chance and know that I would die. He wasn't like that.

I WILL change my fate. I WILL shape the future.

And when the time comes... I will defeat Erebus once and for all.

The dorm was pretty full that night, but I still didn't feel well. I decided to head upstairs, not wanting to go to Tartarus. When I got to my room, I locked the door and sat on my bed, reading the letter over and over.

"Lost in the darkness... perfected by the end of the year... What the hell does this mean...?"

I was too tired to think anymore. Too many things were rushing through my head. I threw the letter in my bag and collapsed from exhaustion.

* * *

_Hamuko's POV_

I didn't know why my brother went to bed so early. I was more than ready to go to Tartarus, but the way he looked, it was probably better to get some rest. I didn't want him to push himself. I sat on my bed and turned on the TV, but I couldn't pay attention for some reason. My mind drifted off to a day back in April... when me, Onii-chan, Yu-kun, Yukari, and Junpei went to see Akihiko-senpai...

I was sitting at my desk, reviewing my notes from class when Junpei-kun came up to me with a paper tucked under his arm. "Hey, Hamuko; FYI, Akihiko-senpai's at the hospital getting a checkup. He asked me to bring him something too." He stretched his arms and grinned. "Yup... he knows who to count on."

Yukari came up and rolled her eyes. "Ya know, he only asked YOU because you have nothing better to do after school." Junpei turned away. "H-hey! I resent that!

She chuckled. "Just kidding. So, what'd he ask you to bring?" He held a piece of paper in front of her. "The class roster for 2-E." I folded my arms. "Why'd he ask you for THAT?" Junpei shrugged. "I dunno."

That's when Onii-chan and Yu-kun walked up to us. "What's going on?" Onii-chan asked. I smirked. "Junpei-kun has to take something to Akihiko-senpai." He rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "In that case, count me in." Yu-kun nodded. "I'm in, too. How about you, Yukari?" She smiled. "Do you have to ask?"

Junpei didn't look so thrilled though. "Um, hello? He did ask me FIRST, ya know..." Yukari smirked. "Who cares? I don't have anything planned so I'm going."

_15 Minutes Later_

We all entered Tatsumi Memorial Hospital and Junpei walked up to the nurse at front desk. "Um, where is Akihiko Sanada's room...?" The nurse typed on her computer and smiled. "Sanada... ah yes, room A312. Is there something you need from him?" I shook my head. "Nah. We came to deliver something for him." The nurse smiled and pointed us towards Senpai's room and we headed down the hall.

When we entered, though, someone else was in the room. He wore a beanie and a long pea coat and his face showed a LOT of discomfort. My first impression of him was a thug, but behind those eyes, I saw... worry. Junpei rubbed his neck. "Umm... is Akihiko-senpai in this room, by any chance...?" The man grunted and turned away. The door opened and I turned around to see Akihiko-senpai enter the room. The man in the pea coat got up. "That it, Aki?" He smiled. "Yeah, thanks." The pea coat guy rolled his eyes. "Tch. I ain't got time for this shit." He got up and just before leaving, took a long glance at my brother. "You..." He turned away before Onii-chan could say anything and with that, Akihiko sat down on his bed.

Yu turned towards Senpai and shrugged. "Who was that guy...?" Akihiko laughed.

"You could say he's an old school friend. I asked him to deliver something for me." He switched his glance to Junpei. "You bring what I asked for?" Junpei-kun snapped out of his trance and nodded. "Uh, yeah. Here ya go..."

Akihiko took the sheet of paper from him and read it. "Thanks. Hey, what brought you here anyway?" Yukari gleamed. "We thought we'd come by and see how you're feeling." Yu-kun interjected. "What's the verdict, Akihiko?" He sighed. "Well, two of my ribs are broken and the doc says I won't be out for about a month... dammit. This really puts a halt on my training."

Yukari put her hands behind her. "By the way, Senpai... why boxing?" Senpai raised an eyebrow. "You mean, why I chose that sport?" He put his arms under his chin. "Well, it's not the sport itself I like; I just wanna learn how to fight." His expression turned grim. "I know what it's like to feel powerless." I looked at him. "Senpai..." He looked up with a happier expression. "But that's not the point. I'll put it this way; it's like a game, though I'm fighting against myself." Junpei smiled wide and placed his hands in his pockets. "Oh, I know what ya mean, senpai! I love games!" Yukari sighed. "Yeah. VIDEO games," she said while Junpei pumped his fist. "Oh, oh and fighting games too," he said. I rolled my eyes and we all left the hospital... except for Akihiko.

The biggest thing about that little trip was how Akihiko-senpai said 'I know what it's like to feel powerless.' When he said that, he looked like he was trying to forget something painful. I just wish I knew what. I checked my watch- 11:55. The Dark Hour would occur in 5 minutes. I turned off the TV and pulled the covers over my head before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER 17.

With Chapter 17 finished, allow me to announce two things.

1. In my poll for the sequel that would decide Yu's Love Interest, Rise won by 2 votes-the only votes that were cast. People who wanted Yu x Yukiko or Yu x Naoto... I'm sorry, but the poll has spoken.

2.I'm a beta reader now. I'm open to beta reading stories, but there are some I won't read.

And of course,

What did Minato see earlier? What does the letter mean? Find out next time!

Please remember to R&R!


	18. Chapter 17: The Second Block, Arqa

Persona 3 Plus 1

By Shunto

Yoooo, guys. Shunto here.

So we're back to P3+1, eh? Yay! :D

First of all, let me say the disclaimer.

I DON'T OWN PERSONA, ATLUS OR THE SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI SERIES.

There we go. Now, I know this isn't on topic but I have a question for you viewers.

How do I clear Day 2 in Devil Survivor? The damn demons keep killing the civilians and I keep getting game overs.

(Ahem) Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy and don't forget to review!

PS: From now on, only ANONYMOUS people can put their OC's in reviews. Registered authors have to PM me with the OC info. I'm sorry if this sounds rough, but it's something that'll help us all. Again, sorry if this annoys you.

* * *

_Chapter 17: The Second Block, Arqa_

_Minato's POV_

I felt much better today, oddly. I don't know why, but I just had so much energy. I lept out of bed, and checked my phone. Today was a Sunday and tomorrow were 1st semester exams, but I had this down. I grabbed my bag as I was going to see about going out for the day with my sister, Yu, and Yukari but my phone rang as I reached the door.

"Dammit… Not now…" I pulled out my phone, pressed TALK and held it to my ear. "Yeah?" The voice on the other end sighed. "Hey, Minato-kun. You wanna hang out with Hamuko and Yu-kun today?" I turned red, although no one could see me. "Sure. Let me grab my stuff and I'll be right down." I disconnected and ran downstairs where the other three were waiting. Hamuko waved and I nodded in response. "So where are we going?" Yu grinned. "I was thinking we could all head off to Screen Shot. Some kid at school told me that they're showing some killer action flicks." I looked at Yukari and she held up a wallet. "Don't worry. I'm paying." Hamuko stretched and got up from the couch. "Well, let's go! The next monorail leaves in 30 minutes, so we can be there if we leave now." And with that said, we all left the dorm, heading towards the monorail.

We barely made it in time and it was about an hour's ride to Port Island Station. I had nothing better to do so I took out a small notebook and began to write in it. It wasn't a journal- it was a notebook about Shadows and Personas. I was planning to give it to Yu at the end of the year if all went well. I jotted down some names and closed the notebook. In front of me, Hamuko was playing on a COMP- probably playing that new game Devil Survivor. I hunched back and closed my eyes.

The hour went by fast and before I knew it, we were at Screen Shot. We all got out and Yukari went to the cashier and pulled out several rolls of paper yen. The man behind the counter gave us the tickets and we entered the theater.

The only seats available were in the middle but they had a good view of the movie screen. We took our seats and waited for the movie to start. It was pretty interesting, even for a film released back in 2005. There was one part, however, where Yukari grabbed my arm after the main antagonist summoned Yami. Both of us turned beet red, obviously, but we didn't care. After about an hour, the credits began to roll and we exited the theater. My sister stretched. "Ahhh… feels good to be out again… ya know, Onii-chan, that guy in the movie was sorta like you!" I rolled my eyes. "You think so?" Yukari nodded. "Yeah. The way he was protecting everyone was pretty cool and how he pulled off that move against Yami was amazing!" Yu laughed. "It's just a film, you know. No one can actually do that." We talked on the way back to the dorm and when we got back, we went to our rooms. I opened my door and collapsed on the bed. It was gonna be a long journey. Before I closed my eyes, I saw a figure outside. I shot up, opened the window and looked outside. "Who's there?" No answer. I slowly closed the window and pulled the shades. Whoever was out there was long gone. But I was worried... this never happened in my first journey. Whoever this was... did he send that letter as well? Too many things were going through my head, so I got into my bed and closed my eyes, dreaming about my friends.

* * *

_Yu's POV_

Light shown into my room and I squinted my eyes to see. Today was the start of the 1st term exams and I knew I had this down. I gathered with everyone as we headed off to school. When we got there, I saw two girls talking and stopped to listen. "Ahhh! I didn't listen to the exam on Friday because… I fell asleep!" The other girl sighed. "Don't you ever learn?" "Come on! Class doesn't start for a bit! We can memorize ten vocabulary words in five minutes!" The bell rang and I headed towards my homeroom. After homeroom, Ms. Toriumi gathered some papers and walked through the rows of desks. "Our exams begin today and last from now 'till Saturday. The questions on the exam are everything you've learned since April. Take your time, and remember you can continue after lunch break." The quiz sat in front of me and I picked up my pen, and looked at the quiz.

_How would you say bread in Japanese? __

_Where is the Kitara Tomb located? __

_How fast does the earth move near the equator? __

_What do you call water high in calcium and magnesium? __

I rolled my eyes. The questions I could do in my sleep! I started writing down the answers, while silently saying them to myself. "The word for bread is pan… Kitara Tomb is located in Nara… the earth moves faster than sound… hard water has a lot of calcium and magnesium…." I finished the quiz, flipped it over and relaxed. Ms. Toriumi must've seen me because she collected my test, as well as Hamuko and Minato's as well. She leaned close to me. "Yu-kun, you may leave now. Have a great day." I nodded and the three of us- Minato, Hamuko and I- left the school and returned to the dorm.

Saturday came around and when we arrived at the dorm, Akihiko was waiting for us. Yukari smiled. "Senpai! I hear you're fully healed!" Junpei rubbed his neck. "Congrats, man!" The older student nodded. "Thanks. Hey, I've got good news. I think I've found us a new member." Junpei rose his arm. "Really!? Sweet! Is it a girl?" I shook my head. "Actually, it is. Fuuka Yamagishi. You guys know her," Akihiko said. Yukari paced around. "Yamagishi- oh that girl from 2-E. From what I hear, she's out sick often." That's when he sighed. "I don't think she's cut out for battle. It's a real shame. I had an Evoker made for her too…" Junpei sighed. "Argh… that sucks… I was hoping to give her some private lessons, too…" Hamuko laughed. "You sound like an old man…!" Yukari followed suit. "Oh man! I've been saying that for years now!" Junpei backed off. "Eeyow! Retract those claws, ladies!" They turned to face him as he turned red. "C'mon… I'm a guy… whaddya expect?" After the discussion, Minato walked over to Mitsuru. "Mitsuru, I want to go to Tartarus tonight." She nodded. "Very well. I'll inform the others, and we'll meet at the school around midnight." I went upstairs, grabbed my katana and headed off to Gekkoukon as the Dark Hour approached.

11:59:56, 11:59:57, 11:59:58, 11:59:58, 11:59:59… 12:00:00

DARK HOUR

The school transformed into Tartarus, and we all entered.

* * *

_Hamuko's POV_

Mitsuru motioned for us and we all gathered. "Alright," she began. "From here on out, Minato is going to choose the team. That means the rest of us will stay behind. Having six people exploring Tartarus is simply too risky. Only four people will go in from here on out." I nodded, and stood next to Yu-kun. Onii-chan came up to us and grabbed my shoulder. "Hamuko. Yu. I want the two of you to come with me. Having both of you with me will help me out." I nodded and hugged him. "You can always count on me, bro." Yu nodded. "Bring it on." Minato then walked over to Akihiko, and I could hear their conversation. "Akihiko, I want you with me." He nodded. "Heh. Let's get going!" We all walked towards the entrance and entered.

…Where we found ourselves right where we stopped last time. However, the pole from before was gone. I watched as Onii-chan touched the gate, and the chairs flew away from the barrier. He smiled at us and motioned us to follow him. As soon as we ascended, the area changed. It wasn't green anymore; the color had changed to a purple color and faces were sticked out of the walls. I shivered as we went from one floor to the next before Mitsuru stopped us. "Wait. I detect a source of power somewhere above you… be careful." I kept that in mind, but just before we reached the stairs, some Shadows attacked. We were about to fight when a huge lightning bolt pierced each of them. I looked to my left and saw Akihiko-senpai holding his Evoker. He smiled. "This is my Persona, Polydeuces. Don't worry; I've got your back, so keep going." Onii-chan nodded and we ascended the stairs and arrived at a new floor. In the middle, we saw three gigantic Shadows waiting for us. I assumed my battle position and charged forward. The Shadows were some Magicians with some swords and pieces of furniture flying in the air. I had the initiative so I pulled out my Evoker. "Hemera!" Blue shards of glass flew out of my right temple and three small beams of light homed on in the enemy and detonated. When the dust cleared, they weren't even scratched. I took a step back. "Huh!? Fire… doesn't work!?" Onii-chan looked at me and smiled as glass shot from all directions of his head. He rose his Evoker to his left temple and closed his eyes. "JACK BROTHERS!" The way his neck shot, I was worried he had snapped it but all of the sudden, two Personas appeared; I didn't recognize them, but Yu-kun apparently did. "Pyro Jack… and Jack Frost…" They appeared to be doing some sort of comedy scene and when they finished, all the Shadows fell over. Akihiko-senpai rubbed his chin and looked at Onii-chan. "I've been waiting for this! Just say the word, Minato!" He pointed his sword at the Shadows and smiled as Akihiko punched his fists together. "Okay… NOW!"

We rushed forward, attacking the downed Shadows with everything we had. There was no way they could survive it, as Yu-kun drove his katana straight through one of their masks. The Shadows disappeared and I saw some cards appear in front of Onii-chan's face. I looked forward and saw the same thing; even Yu-kun had some cards in front of him. The cards flipped over, and the images became clear. One of them had a gold edge with what appeared to be a Persona on it. The other two had some symbols with the Roman Numerals III on the corners. I spun the cards and stopped it when they hit the Persona. A voice rang in my head and I heard a voice; "I am Ara Mitama… a Persona of the Chariot…" I nodded and felt a surge of energy within… so those cards had Personas sealed within them…

Onii-chan and Yu-kun finished their cards and we regrouped, ascending the stairs to the next floor. The Shadows there were no match for us and the few that did decide to attack us met there end immediately. Shadows attacked, both we and our Personas became stronger… it was like a routine. Several floors up, Mitsuru-senpai stopped us. "Wait… I detect another strong presence… but I can't determine where it is. I may have reached the limit of my powers… proceed with caution." Onii-chan continued to lead us up the stairs, and apart from a Shadow Attack here and there, it didn't take long before we arrived at the 'strong presence.' In the middle was a strange, giant idol, wearing a mask of the Empress Arcana. I decided to go first; I wanted to try out my new Persona, Ara Mitama. I held my Evoker at my head and fired. Ara Mitama took form, spun around, and dashed through the enemy, knocking it over. A surge of power went through me, and I attacked the downed Shadow with my naginata… but it just got back up. I swung my weapon in a defensive stance and Yu-kun went next. Placing his Evoker under his chin he fired and a new Persona appeared; it appeared to be a young man in armor carrying a spear. The Persona held its spear in front of itself, and a small amount of wind converged underneath it. That was apparently the Shadows weakness, as it fell to the ground and collapsed. He looked at Onii-chan. "Alright, say the word, and we'll kick some ass!" Onii-chan nodded and we performed an All-Out Attack. With a final strike, the Shadow was destroyed. We proceeded past it and ascended the stairs. A few floors up, we found another blocked pathway and another suitcase. I opened it, found another document, and made a decision to read it out loud. "Guys, listen to this… _'Weird… Kirijo Ergo Research branch plans to build a lab on this island. I wonder what it's for…' _Think it goes with that other document we found?" Akihiko shrugged. "I dunno. I checked it out earlier and it might've been written by the same person… but who knows?" I stuffed the document in my chest pocket, and we all exited Tartarus through the transporter. I was exhausted, but happy that we got to explore tonight. We all headed back to the dorm and called it a night.

* * *

_Normal POV_

Outside Tartarus, a stranger wearing a cloak overlooked the group. He shook his head a few times and sighed. "Those kids will have a difficult time if they can't fight better... they're doing well... but at this rate, they won't be able to stop what's coming," he said. Behind him, a growl emitted. He turned around and saw several Shadows crawling towards him. "Hmph... I won't let you escape..." He drew a sword from a sheath, and began cutting the Shadows to pieces. In almost two minutes, it was over. He sheathed his weapon and walked away from the dark green tower, but stopped. In front of him was a young man with blue hair... he wasn't the teenager from before though. His shirt was black, and his pants were a bright red. His headphones were black and white, and the frame was on the back of his head. The cloaked figure approached him. "What are you doing here? You should get home..." The boy turned to face him and rolled his eyes. "...I have work to do. It's part of my duty being King of Bel."

* * *

END OF CHAPTER 17

Odd… what are these strange documents? Who wrote them? Who was that outside Minato's window? And who was that strange young boy calling himself 'King of Bel?' We may not know for a long time…

Remember to R&R!


	19. Chapter 18: Search for Fuuka Part 1

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Plus 1

By Shunto

Hey guys! Allow me to open up with this: Happy Thanksgiving!

Okay, I'm a little late, but who cares? It's all about the stories!

By the way, I've opened up a new poll on my profile page. Check it out if you have the time!

With that done, let's begin!

PS: In the section where Yu is pulling out his SL items, the X-mas items are from a scenario I thought up in which the entire Investigation Team comes over to give each other gifts and I did a time skip. THIS CHAPTER ALSO CONTAINS SUGGESTIVE THEMES! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

* * *

_Chapter 18: The Search for Fuuka Yamagishi – Part 1_

_Hamuko's POV_

Almost two weeks had passed since our exploration of Arqa. I was sitting on the couch watching TV when Yu-kun came down with a small box. He sat on the couch across from me and opened it up, taking some things out and piling them on the table. What he pulled out, in no relative order, were several things I had never seen before. A bandage, a talisman that appeared to be from a shrine, a brooch that appeared to be in the shape of a spiral, a sewn doll, a coffee mug, a photo with a picture of two young girls, two yellow wristbands, a photo with him and two others smiling, a small ema, a detectives badge, an letter, a receipt that had JUNES in bright, red colors, a fountain pen, a bookmark with a clover design, an ID card, a sheet that had a 100 in the corner, a small mirror, and a small book with notes written all over the cover.

I felt my jaw drop. "Yu-kun… what IS that stuff?"

He smiled. "Stuff from friends."

He turned his attention back to the box and pulled out a few more things, including a leather keyring, some mufflers, a silver bangle and a small, digital watch. I looked up and saw that the clock on the wall was reading 7:30 PM, or dinnertime. Yu-kun and I headed towards the dining room table and everyone else came down. Mitsuru-senpai brought down some sushi, and placed a bit on each of our plates. But for some reason, none of us were eating. That's when Akihiko-senpai broke the silence.

"What's the matter, you guys not hungry?"

Yukari fiddled with her thumbs and sighed. "It's just that all those rumors at school are just… I think they might be getting to me."

Yu-kun took a bit of shrimp and bit into it. He swallowed it and chuckled. "Rumors are rumors, Yukari-chan. You seriously aren't telling me that all that crap about ghosts is getting to you?"

She reeled back in her chair and snarled in his direction. "Wha- of course not! What on earth makes you think I believe in ghosts!?"

Junpei rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Yuka-tan. You seriously need to lighten up…"

Mitsuru-senpai folded her arms and turned to face my brother, who was simply sitting quietly. "Arisato, what do you think of these rumors? About that student from 2-E?"

He sighed. "No idea. Ask Yukari, she's the one who brought it up…"

The heavy atmosphere continued throughout dinner until Yukari stood up. "You know what? That's it. I'm gonna get to the bottom of this whole rumor crap one way or another! We'll all ask around school and present our findings on Friday here at the dorm!"

Akihiko-senpai smiled. "Alright, good luck… just make sure you sleep with one eye open."

Yukari shivered. "S-senpai!? That was a joke… right…?"

* * *

_Yu's POV_

The week from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon went quickly.

After class, Yukari-chan approached our desks and smiled. "Alright, you guys ready for tonight's meeting?"

Junpei blinked. "Wha… we had something planned for tonight…?"

She gave him a glance that would probably even scare a Shadow if said beings could have emotions. "Don't tell me you forgot already!"

He reeled away and smiled. "D-don't worry! I wouldn't forget…"

She sighed and looked at all of us. "Alright then. Tonight, after school, we'll present our evidence. See ya."

And with that, she left the room. I grabbed my stuff and made my way to the library; studying would pass the time quickly and I could review stuff to embarrass Ekoda. I didn't even get the chance to go down the stairs when two students walked in front of me and glared heavily in my general direction. I raised an eyebrow.

"You, uh, need something, gentlemen?"

The guy on the right cracked his knuckles and started advancing on me. I backed away as he raised his fist and spat on the ground. Students in the hallway cleared the way for the three of us as I was somehow backed all the way to the roof.

Ugly number 2 rubbed the back of his neck and grabbed my shirt. "Listen asshole. How the hell'd you manage to go out with a chick like Hamuko? Me n' my buddy here had our eyes on her for a while. What the hell do you have that we don't!?" I looked at him and his friend.

"Good looks? Charm? Popular with the ladies?"

Bad move, Yu.

The punk holding me rammed me against the fence and shoved his charming face into mine. "Listen, you little bastard… if me 'n my bud here see you hangin' out with that bit- I mean, young lady… you're gonna get it."

I smiled. "There's no way she'd date you and Prince Charming over there… she's too good for you…" I obviously hit a nerve as Sasquatch raised his fist and hit me square in the gut. I went down on all fours and began to cough up blood. The two laughed and Charming raised his fist to pound my head into the floor. I braced myself, ready to feel my face hit the hard concrete, but a familiar voice stopped them.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing with Yu-kun!?" I felt my heart sink. Hamuko-chan had decided to show up. Sasquatch threw me to the ground and he and Prince Charming advanced to her.

"Hey there, Hamuko-chan…" He licked his lips as she backed away.

"Get away from me, you perv!" He grabbed her arm and she recoiled in disgust. "You're lookin mighty fine today… you wanna score big?" He softly caressed her cheek and a second later, he was on the ground. Hamuko's hand had apparently given him the bitchslap of his life. Prince Charming helped him up and pinned her against the fence.

Suddenly, three teenagers in black robes with kendo swords charged from the stairs and onto the roof. One of them smacked Sasquatch in the back of the head, knocking him over. The other two simultaneously hit Charming in the ribs, making him wobble a bit before falling over. They helped Hamuko up, and I made my way over to them as Hamuko used her arm to lend me support. The leader of the three came up and removed his mask.

"Hey," he said. "I'm Ryan Xeros. What're your names?"

Hamuko smiled. "Hamuko. Hamuko Arisato." I looked up at Ryan and gripped my gut. "Yu… Narukami…" I was in too much pain to speak. Hamuko and Ryan grabbed my arms and took me to the nurse's office where Junpei and Akihiko came to pick me up.

As the four of us walked to the dorm, Junpei looked at the ground sadly. "Dude… what the hell happened to you?"

Hamuko wiped a tear from her eye and looked at me. "Two punks beat him up because he went out with me… it's thanks to him that he and I are okay."

Saying that, she pointed to Ryan-kun, who gave us a smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's no problem, Hamuko-san. I got some exercise out of it, so…"

I smiled and I could feel a faint bond forming between the two of us. I heard the shattering of glass and a tarot card appeared in front of me, invisible to everyone else. A voice rang out in my head as it spun around.

_Thou art I… and I am thou. Thou hast established a new bond…_

_It brings thee closer to thy destiny…_

_Thou shall be blessed when thoust choosest to create a Persona of the Aeon Arcana…_

The card disappeared and I felt my inner power surge. Aeon… an Arcana I had never heard of… I thought about asking Minato about it later, so that would clear things up… I hope. Ryan left us with a wave and the four of us returned to the dorm. In the lounge, Minato and Yukari were already there, talking with each other. I decided to rest for the night, so I returned to my room and crawled under the covers.

* * *

_Minato's POV_

As soon as Junpei and Hamuko sat down, Yukari cleared her throat. "Alright, so we're gonna present our evidence tonight. What'd you guys gather this past week?"

I stretched a bit and let out a deep breath. "Well... apparently, there were three victims, right? And they all went to our school as well. So, they've been a major problem since April, and they really hung out with a bad crowd. That about sum it up?"

Yukari nodded and clasped her hands together. "Alright, here's the plan. The four of us will go to where those girls hung out a lot. Ya know where I'm talking 'bout Junpei?"

He thought for a few minutes and shot up out of his seat. "You're not talking about... THERE are you!? That place behind Port Island Station!?" She nodded. "Oh, you're familiar with that area? Alright. Tomorrow evening, we're gonna go there. Deal?"

Both me and Hamuko nodded. Junpei just sat in his chair shivering.

I returned to my room and my cell rang. I checked the caller, but it simply read 'Unknown Caller.' I pressed TALK and held it to my ear. "Hello. Minato Arisato speaking... who is this?"

The voice on the other end of the line sighed. "Listen. Whatever you do, don't fight the Empress and Emperor greater Shadows in three days. You will die."

I nearly dropped the phone. "Who... how do you know this?" No answer. I checked my phone; the line was dead. Whoever sent that call knew something I didn't... and whoever that person was obviously has been watching me. Too much was going through my head... again. Why was all of this happening? I thought... all that would happen was I just needed to do my journey again... why is someone I don't know here in my timeline? And I never met this guy... so how did he get my number? I sighed, placed my phone in the charger, hopped on my bed, and went to sleep.

After school the next day, I immediately made my way to the monorail and headed to the dorm. When I got there, everyone else was already there. Yeah. I STILL don't know how people get back faster than I do. I set my books on the floor and Yukari approached me.

"Alright, ready to go?" Junpei shook his head and sighed. "Seriously... this is bad news..."

Yukari rolled her eyes. "C'mon, it'll be an adventure!" She and Hamuko exited and Junpei stared at me. "Adventure? More like a _suicide_ mission."

Deciding to be a bit of a jerk, I grabbed his shoulder and winked. "We're counting on you."

And with that, I left the dorm. Before the door closed, however, he sighed. "Oh. NOW I'm the leader?"

When the four of us got to Port Island Station, Junpei was obviously scared. There were thugs and prostitutes everywhere. My baseball-cap wearing friend summed the whole thing up nicely. "Damn... this is worse than I thought..." Yukari stood hands-on-hips facing the teenagers, and one of them recognized our uniforms.

"Hey, check out those rags. They're from Gekko High."

Yukari turned to us. "Just ignore these scum."

Nice choice of words, Yukari.

One of the prostitutes took a puff of her cigarette and laughed. "Hey! She just called us scum!" The other girls joined in. "We're gonna take pictures of her and that other bitch so bad it'll make there daddies cry!"

I tightened my fist and clenched my teeth.

The other girls laughed harder. "Oh that'd be great! We'll post em all over the net!"

Yukari stepped forward. "Shut up! It's none of your business on why we're here!" The teen in the red shirt glared at her. "Shut up, bitch!" And then he punched Junpei in the stomach. Hamuko ran over to help him and the teen who called Yukari a bitch grabbed her wrist and flashed a knife in front of her. I snapped at that point.

That's it. No way these guys are gonna hurt my friends anymore.

I picked up a nearby lead pipe and swung it at the teen who called my future girlfriend a bitch. He went down with a bloody nose and his friend drew a knife. I dodged his clumsy slash with little effort and landed a solid blow in his back. Both punks were out cold, and the girls were laughing their heads off. I dropped the pipe, and helped Junpei to his feet. And out of the corner of my eye, the teens got back up. "You think you're gettin outta here alive, asshole!?" I stood in front of all three of them- my sister, Yukari, and Junpei- as they approached. Before they got close enough to hurt us, a familiar voice stopped them.

"That's enough."

Out of the shadows stepped Shinjiro, a former member of SEES who would join and ... pass away, sadly. The teen in red looked at him and smiled. "Who the hell are you- wait... that's right... you go to Gekko High as well."

Shinjiro nodded. "They didn't know what they were getting into. I'll make sure they leave."

The older teen in the white shirt looked at him with crossed eyes and frowned. "Get outta here, you bastard!"

He attempted to punch him, but Shinjiro headbutted him before he even got close.

He was on the ground and staring at him. "You think you're leaving here alive!?"

Shinjiro cracked his knuckles. "Wanna bet?"

The red t-shirt guy frowned. "D-damn you, Shinjiro!" And with that, the two teens and the group of whores left the back alley.

The student walked over to us and sat on the curb. "What the hell're you guys doin' here anyway? Did Aki send you?" I shook my head and he spat to the side. Folding his legs, he looked at me. "You're here about the rumors, aren't you?"

Yukari was surprised, to say the least. "Y-yeah, how'd you know?"

Shinjiro folded his arms under his chin and leaned forward, taking a long, deep breath. "Well, every night these girls would come here... talkin' about all the nasty things they'd done to some girl named Fuuka."

Junpei stepped back. "Fuuka... you mean Fuuka Yamagishi from Class 2-E?"

He nodded. "That's why some people're saying Fuuka's ghost has done it."

Hamuko stepped back further than Junpei. "Fuuka's... ghost? What do you mean, Senpai?"

He stood up. "Don't you get it? She hasn't been home in over a week. For all we know..." He paused and looked straight at all of us. "This Fuuka girl... might be dead."

Junpei was shocked. "What!? Th-that's impossible..."

He folded his arms. "That's all I know. Now get on outta here." I bowed, and Hamuko approached him. "Thank you for everything, Senpai."

She bowed, and Junpei shook his hand. Yukari bowed as well and smiled at him. "Thank you for the information."

He rolled his eyes, and the four of us left the alley and returned to the dorm before the Dark Hour. When we got back, we returned to our rooms and hit the hay.

Come Monday, we will confront Ekoda about Fuuka's disappearance. And we will save her from Tartarus. Shadows... or no Shadows.

END OF CHAPTER 19.

Sorry for long delay... had a long vacation... :(

R&R please. Also check out my profile for a new poll. :)


	20. Chapter 19: Search for Fuuka Part 2

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 + 1

By Shunto

Yay! Empress and Emperor Battle are here at last!

I really am glad to have made it this far as of today, and I have you readers to thank. Your reviews have kept me going!

Now then, disclaimer time…

I don't own ATLUS, the Persona or Shin Megami Tensei series, nor do I have any affiliation with them.

* * *

_Chapter 19: The Search for Fuuka Yamagishi – Part 2_

**Hamuko's POV:**

The next morning, I stretched and checked my phone. Today was Sunday, so we had the day off from school. And apparently, I'd been sleeping in for a while; it was lunchtime today.

…Lunchtime?

That's right! Rio-chan told me that a certain home shopping channel was on at lunchtime! I punched the power switch on my TV and couldn't help but smile as an irritatingly catchy song came on over the speakers.

"_Here comes Tanaka, over the airwaves to youuuu!"_

A man came on screen and bowed as a woman pushed a covered cart behind him. The suited man cleared his throat and smiled.

"He-llo, everybody, and welcome to 'Tanaka's Amazing Commodities!'

A chorus nearby held out there arms and began to sing.

"Granter of your de-si-errs!"

I smiled and produced a wallet from my purse as the women grabbed onto the covering and smiled as Tanaka turned around. "Now then, let's bring out our product of the day!" And saying that, he pulled off the covering to reveal a very nice set of weaponry, complete with a sword, a katana, a bow, a naginata and a rapier inset with a jewel.

Tanaka turned around and pointed at the weaponry set. "Here is an AMAZING set of weaponry for the fighter in you! It's a dangerous world out there and this is a set designed to protect you!" He then looked straight at the camera and smiled. "All this can be YOURS for 8590 yen!" I checked my wallet. From the previous battles, I counted over 20,000 yen in bills and smiled, grabbing my cell phone and dialed the on-screen number. It rang a few times and someone picked up.

"Hello. This is Tanaka's Amazing Commodities. Are you here for the weapon set?"

I smiled. "Yeah, I'll pay 20,000 yen in bills. How should I send it to you?"

The man on the other end chuckled. "Send it in via the mail. At the end of the show, we'll ship your product and we should receive your money in two days. But are you sure you want to send 20,000 yen? The weapon set is only 8590…"

I sighed. "Yeah, I'm sure…" And by saying that, I completely wasted 20,000 yen on a set of weapons. What confused me was how this was gonna get TO the dorm… Kurosawa can't ignore a set of weapons outside a student dorm- oh yeah… he's affiliated with us.

I closed my phone and took a deep breath. In, and out… in and out… I calmly smiled and got off bed whilst stretching.

I grabbed my headphones and switched on my MP3 to Soul Phrase, a song I'd grown attached to. I nodded my head to the beat and walked down the stairs to the dorm's lounge where Onii-chan was talking with Yukari-chan. I paid no attention to them and left the dorm, only to see Rio jogging past.

She stopped and smiled at me. "Hamuko-san… what a surprise! Going somewhere?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm heading off to Screen Shot. Wanna come with? Catch a flick with me?"

She wiped her forehead with a small towel and smiled. "Sure! I'd love to!"

We kept talking about small things as the two of us made our way to Port Island Station where Screen Shot had their shutters closed.

I softly kicked the dirt and Rio sighed. "Aw damn," she said. "It's closed… what now?"

My face lit up and I looked at her. "How 'bout karaoke, or the arcade?"

Rio clasped her hands together and smiled. "Yeah! That sounds like a blast!"

We made our way to Paulownia Mall and decided on the arcade, where Rio challenged me to a fighting game. After about 5 minutes, her character was lying on the ground while mine was doing a victory pose. The two of us left the arcade and headed back to the station where I me and Rio parted ways. I entered the dorm, made my way upstairs, and collapsed on the bed. Ekoda had been hiding way too much about Fuuka-san, and we'd get something outta him, whether he liked it or not.

* * *

**Yu's POV:**

During lunch break, Minato, Yukari, Junpei, Hamuko and I went to the faculty office where Ekoda was so we could confront him about Fuuka's disappearance. When we got there, however, Mitsuru was already there.

Hamuko-chan stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Senpai… why're you here?"

The young redhead folded her arms and smiled. "Same reason as you." She looked at Ekoda and sighed. "Mr. Ekoda… I'm here to ask you about a student called Fuuka Yamagishi…"

All of the sudden, a young brunette shot out of her chair and grabbed her head like she was in pain. "NO!"

Yukari stepped back. "Hey… you're that girl…"

The brunette slowly sat back down and shivered. "I… I didn't think it'd turn out like this…"

Mitsuru glared at her. "What'd you do to Yamagishi?"

Ekoda sat up and rolled his eyes. "Hold on, Mitsuru. This isn't an interrogation." Turning to face the brunette he smiled. "Natsuki- you don't have to say anything if you don't want to… you wouldn't want to give her the wrong idea."

I balled my fist but Minato held me back. How the hell did this bastard become a teacher?

The brunette- Natsuki, I think she was called- slowly sat up and her breathing slowed as she regained control of her emotions. "Fuuka, she… she always looked so frazzled whenever I gave her a hard time… and then I realized… she's an honor student but deep down, she's just like us… I knew just which buttons to push…"

Junpei looked down and Hamuko gave a deep sigh while I saw beads of sweat form on Ekoda's brow.

So Ekoda knew something was up, and he was _hiding _it!?

Natsuki continued, "May 29th… we took Fuuka to the gym… and locked the door behind her…"

Junpei stepped back. "What!? You locked her in!?"

She nodded sadly and looked at the ground. "That night, Maki went to school alone. She was afraid we'd get in trouble if Fuuka committed suicide. But… she never came back… and the next morning…"

"… She was found lying on the ground be the gate," Yukari finished for her.

"I went to the gym to let Fuuka out, but the door was still locked… So, I opened it and went inside, but she wasn't there… We all freaked out. Starting that night, we went out looking for her. But every night, another one of us went missing… and they each ended up like Maki!"

Mitsuru nodded. "I see." She then turned to face Ekoda. "By the way, Mr. Ekoda… all this time you've attributed Yamagishi's absences to 'illness...' but in reality, she was missing. You must have been aware of that… What was your intention?"

Ekoda looked to the side and smirked. "I was thinking of the students of course!"

Hamuko curled her fists and if looks could kill, Ekoda would probably be a small crater in the ground right now and I literally had to hold her shoulders to keep her from going apeshit on Ekoda.

But I even though I was holding her down, Minato kept his hand on my shoulder, holding me back from punching Ekoda. Guess if I assaulted the bastard, I'd be spending the rest of my days in jail.

He continued his little speech. "You children may not realize it, but we have to consider the future of everyone affected."

Mitsuru closed her eyes. "You mean you chose not to report this to the police for the 'good of the class'."

Ekoda looked at the ground. "It-It was in her best interest. I wouldn't want her records to be stained by something like this. Her parents agree!"

What the hell is wrong with these people? A girl is missing, or worse, dead, and they're worried about her _record_?

Before I could say anything, Hamuko broke from my grip and looked at Ekoda straight in the eye. "Her parents are idiots!"

Ekoda reeled back and sweated heavily. "H-how dare you!"

Hamuko walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders while Mitsuru pulled her off him. "Are you telling me that a young girls school record is more important than the fact that she is _alive_!?"

Ekoda wheeled away as Hamuko barraged him with more scolding. Mitsuru finally pulled Hamuko off and glared at Ekoda, "So to protect your career, you ignored your responsibility as a teacher…How despicable…!"

Wow, Mitsuru-senpai makes a certain someone I know look like a pansy.

Ekoda gasped at that and started to stumble on his words, "I-I didn't… I was just…"

I couldn't help but be amused at Ekoda's pathetic attempts to cover himself.

But Mitsuru simply ignored him and returned her attention to Natsuki. Ekoda eventually got up and left the room while sweating heavily.

"About your friends… Did you notice anything unusual before the incidents?" she asked, then added "…Anything at all."

Natsuki closed her eyes and was thinking hard, before opening them again, "They all head a voice… A creepy voice… Right before each of them went missing. They said it was calling their name."

Junpei looked like Yukari whenever ghosts were being a topic. "Oh, man…"

'Oh, man' was right. There's only one thing that comes to mind when Natsuki mentioned the 'voice'.

Following that Yukari approached Mitsuru with a grim look on her face. "Senpai, could it be…!?"

The older girl nodded. "It's them… no doubt about it. Until now, there was no way of knowing how or why some people are conscious during the Dark Hour. But, it's the voice; it draws them in. It's not a random phenomenon. This whole thing has made me realize… They're clearly targeting humans," She looked down and her face showed signs of sorrow, "Shadows are the enemy of mankind."

She then turned back to Natsuki, "Stay in our dorm tonight; it's the safest place. If you hear the voice, tell us immediately. And don't leave the room, no matter what. If you can do that much, you should be okay. Don't worry, Yamagishi should be alright as well."

"Fuuka…" Natsuki simply muttered.

Mitsuru then looked at us, "We'll meet after school in the Student Council Room to discuss tonight's operation."

Junpei look skeptical, "T-Tonight!?"

"We're going to rescue Yamagishi," Mitsuru declared, "If my guess is correct, she's still inside the school."

"U-Understood!" Yukari nodded in agreement.

With that, we all went back to class, while Mitsuru had Natsuki sent to the dorm for her protection. But I couldn't get this uneasy feeling that taking her to the dorm would do no good.

* * *

**Minato's POV:**

School went by quickly after our little adventure during lunchtime and we found ourselves in the council room with Akihiko and Mitsuru. Everyone was giving odd glances.

Mitsuru stood up and looked at us. "Tonight, we are going to infiltrate the campus. Our objective is to rescue Fuuka Yamagishi."

Junpei looked confused, "Um, I don't get it… Is Fuuka inside the school somewhere?"

"And why at night?" Yukari asked. "At midnight, this place turns into-"

"Exactly," Mitsuru stated, "That's how Yamagishi wondered into Tarturus."

Yukari started to piece it altogether, "Then, ever since Fuuka got locked in the gym, she's been stuck there…?"

"That's correct," Mitsuru answered.

"But that was over ten days ago!" Junpei exclaimed, "That means…"

Akihiko then intervened, "Not necessarily. We can't jump to conclusions. Tarturus only appears in the Dark Hour. So, what about the rest of the day?

"Now that you mention it…" Yukari says.

"It does seem pretty weird… wouldn't that mean…" Hamuko tried to explain.

"This is just a theory, but I think time may function differently with respect to Tarturus. So, even though it's been ten days for us, perhaps only ten hours passed for her."

That's an impressive theory, even though I've heard it before. But this makes me think. If Fuuka had spent only ten Dark Hours, where is she during the normal days? Is it possible that since Tarturus is non-existent in the normal days, a person also ceases to exist during that time? I never did get an answer for that. Maybe I should ask Fuuka after we save her.

Junpei was still unconvinced. "That's still a problem, Akihiko-senpai. We can barely handle an hour. How's she gonna last TEN?"

"Are you just gonna let her die then!?" Akihiko snapped. I could tell that Akihiko was remembering something painful as he said that.

I stepped in between them. "Guys, stop fighting. The longer we spend arguing over this; the chances are that by midnight Fuuka will have been murdered by the Shadows! We don't need another Lost wandering around the streets…"

The two of them looked away and Hamuko intervened. "One other thing… how're we gonna get into the school? The staff locks it up after hours, anyway…"

Junpei smiled. "Oh, why didn't ya say so? I know just what to do for this…"

Evening came and we were all in the command room with one thing on our mind: Rescue Fuuka Yamagishi.

Mitsuru walked up to me and Junpei and folded her arms. "Iori… you said that you'd find a way in earlier today, did you not?"

He smiled. "Don't worry… its all set to go."

She raised an eyebrow. "Set to go… an explosive?" A smile curved across her lips as she chuckled. "Alright… I'll let you handle this."

Yukari turned to face the young cap-wearing youth. "An explosive? For real!?"

Junpei looked at us oddly. "Nah… all I did was unlock a door…"

I couldn't help but laugh at the simplicity of that plan.

We made our way to the school where Junpei lead us to the door he'd opened earlier.

Mitsuru chuckled as we walked inside, turning to face Junpei. "So you unlocked it beforehand… tres bien."

Akihiko smiled. "Oui. Now let's get moving."

As the two seniors left, Junpei stood dumbfounded. "Tray ben? What is that, French? Lousy seniors and their lousy French…"

We made our way to Class 2-F and Mitsuru stood in front of us. "Alright; three of you will go to the janitor's office. The other three will come with me to the faculty office."

Junpei smiled. "The faculty office eh… oh, maybe we'll find the answers to some test questions!"

Mitsuru glared at him. "Were you planning something… unscrupulous while I was gone?"

He rubbed his neck. "Wha- no, no, no, it was a joke…"

The senior sighed and looked at me. "Arisato, you go with Takeba and Narukami to the faculty office. Your sister, Iori and Akihiko will come with me."

I nodded and motioned for the two to follow me.

We made our way down the stairs to the main lobby when Yu stopped us suddenly. "I hear something… hide behind that pillar guys!"

The three of us hid behind a pillar and stayed quiet as a security guard waved his flashlight past us and walked out of the school. Me and Yukari were blushing at being pressed against each other as Yu kept a lookout.

After the coast was clear, Yukari sighed heavily. "Phew… it's just a security guard… let's get moving."

Before we even took a few steps, a small sound echoed through the room and Yukari gasped. She reached into her pocket and sighed. "Figures… its spam." Both Yu and I chuckled at her reaction. We then went down the hall to the faculty office hallway. The door was open, so we entered quietly and opened a desk where the three of us rummaged through the keys.

Yukari pulled one out and frowned. "Ugh… it's too dark… what's this one say?"

I squinted at it and smiled. "It says gym. You have the right key, Yukari."

She smiled and we made our way back to the lounge where Junpei, Akihiko, Hamuko and Mitsuru were waiting for us.

Yukari waved her key in front of them and Hamuko smiled. "Alright! Now we just gotta enter the gym… but who's going?"

Mitsuru smiled and started to explain the plan, and then "… Three of you will enter Tartarus, and the remaining will remain outside with me."

Akihiko was dead set on going to save Fuuka, and Junpei wanted to make up for his blunder in the last operation, and since I was the leader, I was a given. With that, the three of us- Akihiko, Junpei and I- made our way to the gym to rescue Fuuka.

However, the memory of that phone the other night still had me worried. If that guy has been watching me for some time now, does that mean that he'll be here? If so, I better keep my eyes open and see if this guys a friend, or foe. I cannot fail.

* * *

**Normal POV:**

Outside on the roof of the school, a lone figure watched the group head for the gym. He had to make sure that he was out of the school grounds before midnight, or he would get drawn to the tower.

"I hope they can rescue that girl. But then again, _he's_ watching over her, so she'll be alright. But the question is… will they?"

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

What's gonna happen next?

Is the stranger's warning going to come true?

And if he's trying to help SEES, does that mean he's a friend?

R&R please. :)


	21. Chapter 20: Empress and Emperor

Persona 3 Plus 1

By Shunto

Disclaimer: I don't own Atlus, the Shin Megami Tensei series nor do I have any affiliation with them.

_Chapter 20: Arcana Empress and Emperor_

* * *

**Fuuka POV:**

I found myself awake after blacking out again. It always seems to happen for some reason. I notice that the structure of the room changed again. But I could sense something having changed.

I sensed three beings enter this place, but I can't tell who or what they are. They don't seem to be the creatures I've been avoiding for some time now.

Are they human?

I hope so and maybe they can help me leave this place. I feel my strength drain every moment I'm in here. But I have to be careful. Those creatures might attack me if they catch me.

I run through several halls and turn corners, being very careful to stop and hide whenever I sensed those creatures.

I nearly reached the stairs, but then I sensed something terrible appear out of nowhere. This creature was a skeleton wearing a black cloak around itself with chains hanging limply on it as it clanged the floor. It had a long barreled revolver on each arm. It gave of the feeling of death as it stared into me.

I tried to run, but the creature growled and shot its lightning out of its revolver and stopped me from trying to escape.

I screamed in pain as the blast knocked me back onto the floor. I tried to get up, but the creature aimed its revolver straight at my head. I felt fear overwhelm me as I felt certain death approaching. I could feel tears escaping my eyes as I closed them.

I… I don't want to die… I… I want-

Before I could finish my thought, I heard the creature roar, as if in pain. I opened my eyes and could see another figure striking at the creature. But I couldn't get a clear view as the darkness covered his form, and he seemed to be wearing a cloak. He held an odd weapon that looked like a sword as he slashed at one of the creature's revolvers and cut it in half, before quickly jumping back to avoid a lightning attack.

The creature aimed its other revolver at the stranger, but I noticed that his sword seemed to slightly transform and look like a gun. He aimed and fired straight into the creature's revolver, and when the creature fired, the revolver exploded, as the creature screamed in more pain. The stranger continued to fire as each round seemed to explode with white energy at the creature, who continued screaming in pain as cracks formed around his skull and seemed to be breaking apart.

"Amazing…" I say as I looked on. I then saw another creature right behind the stranger, but it seemed different from what I sensed from the others. It vanished as soon as I noticed it.

The stranger transformed his gun into a sword and it glowed with white energy as he charged and sliced the creature in half. The creature then faded away into nothingness. The stranger seemed to sheath his sword and turned away.

"Wait!" I found myself calling him. He stopped for a moment, but then ran away into the darkness.

"Who was he…? I can't sense him at all… Is he human?" I found myself asking in wonder at my savior. But I couldn't stay like that for long. I had to keep moving on.

* * *

**Minato's POV**

I don't know how long I was out. When I finally came to, a quick survey of my surroundings told me I was in Arqa, the second block of Tartarus. No one was around though. Once again, like in my original journey, I was alone in a tower filled with Shadows. I stood up, brushed my pants and blinked a few times in an attempt to reclaim my vision. When I turned around, Pharos was right in front of me.

"Hi there," he said. "This is the first time we've spoken outside of your room."

I nodded. "Yeah… hey, where are the others?"

Pharos chuckled. "Don't worry, you'll see them soon. But you need to hurry… for tonight, the two ordeals you'll face will be nothing like you've faced before."

I looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"

The young boy gave me a sad smile. "A strange being from another time will be assisting one of the two ordeals tonight. Please… be careful."

He stepped away from me and vanished into the darkness of Tartarus. But his words worried me.

A being from another time? Is it possible that it's related to the distortion Igor mentioned? And that weird phone call…

Argh! I have no time for this. I need to find the others and then rescue Fuuka.

I walked through the dark halls when my headset activated. "You were… from the others… come in… distance… far…" Mitsuru's voice cracked to the point where I couldn't hear her at all.

I sighed, and continued through the halls of Arqa, and soon my headset activated again. "Akihiko… different floor… come in… respond!" Static overtook her voice and before I continued, something echoed throughout the floor.

"Who is this…? Are you human…?"

It was Fuuka's voice!

I ran up the floors, avoiding the Shadows on the way until I reached a large room where Akihiko and Junpei were waiting. The senior rubbed his neck and walked toward me.

"Hey, you're here... ya know, I don't think we should ever enter Tartarus this way again…"

Junpei nodded. "You said it, senpai." He turned to face me, "By the way… while you were wandering around, did you happen to hear a voice? It sounded like, um…"

Someone talking from behind him interrupted him. "Who is this…? Are you human?"

Junpei's eyes went wide. "That's it! That's the voice! Sounded like it came from behind us…"

We all looked behind Junpei as a frail, young girl peeked her head from behind the corner with a look of shock and fear in her eyes. Akihiko walked towards her and held out his hand. "Are you Fuuka Yamagishi?" She nodded. "Y-yes… that's my name…"

Junpei smiled. "Sweet… you're alive!" He walked to her side and grabbed her shoulder. "Never fear, Junpei's here!"

Fuuka breathed a sigh of relief and fell to her knees. "Where are we…? I remember being in the gym and when I woke up… I was here…"

Junpei rubbed his neck. "Uh, we'll explain that later… oh yeah, on your way here did you notice anything… strange?"

Fuuka looked down at the floor. "You mean… those strange creatures here, right…? I've managed to avoid them so far…"

Akihiko was taken aback. "Are you serious!? How is that possible?"

She looked at us in confusion. "Well… I can sort of tell where they are… and this stranger helped me out earlier… he saved me from one of those things when I was caught…"

Wait, what? She got caught? That didn't happen before. And this stranger helped her? Was he the one watching me? If he saved Fuuka, then that means he's a friend, right?

Junpei stared at Akihiko. "T-that's amazing… wait, someone saved you…?"

The senior smiled. "She probably has the same power as Mitsuru, only stronger. That's probably because Mitsuru's Persona is more battle-oriented…"

Fuuka tilted her head and gave the senior a look of confusion. "Persona…?"

"We'll tell you everything later… for now, hold onto this…" Akihiko-senpai said, as he pulled out an Evoker and handed it to Fuuka.

The blue haired junior stepped back and gasped, "B-but this is a…"

Akihiko rubbed his head, "Think of it as a lucky charm… it isn't really a gun."

Fuuka looked skeptical but nodded anyway. I looked at everyone and smiled. "Let's find the nearest teleport pad. We have to get out of here, _now_."

Junpei and Akihiko nodded and we ran up the floors in search of a transport pad. As we continued our search for the transport pad, we eventually found ourselves finally making the connection to the greater Shadows and the Full Moon. but one thought continued to linger throughout my head.

Who was this person who saved Fuuka? It had to be a Persona-user, I knew that much… but none came to mind.

* * *

**Hamuko's POV**

I paced back and forth as beads of sweat rolled down my forehead. I was extremely worried about my brother and Fuuka, and the fact that they had been gone for a while was very alarming. Eventually, I stopped and sat on the stairs, obtaining a look of worry from Mitsuru-senpai.

"Arisato-san… I know you're worried about your brother, but you need to remember that we're here to provide backup. Please, try to relax."

I nodded and let out a deep sigh of exhaustion. I was just about to close my eyes and take a nap when I heard a small rumble.

This alerted everyone in the room, and I reached for my Evoker that was in the holster at my waist. Another rumble sounded throughout the room, and we all turned our attention to the entrance. The doors flew open and two gigantic Shadows came walking in.

When the dust cleared, I managed to catch a glimpse of our attackers, and upon seeing them, my heart dropped.

For one, both Shadows carried weapons, but they also seemed to have an identifiable gender. The one on the left appeared to be an obese female, and it was waving a small scepter around in the air. On it's chest appeared to be a grate, and that scared me somewhat. I didn't know what was in there, but to be honest… I didn't want to know.

The one on the right was apparently male, and it was extremely slim. It carried a sword in its right hand, and it appeared to be too heavy for him, as he used it to maintain balance from time to time.

I whipped out my Evoker and fired at my head to summon Hemera. She spread her wings out and a blast of fire hit the left one dead center. I smiled but almost immediately began to panic as the Shadow continued to advance towards us, unharmed.

"No way! How did it…?" I questioned, but Yukari tried to attack them it with her bow and arrow. The arrow merely bounced off the male Shadow like it was nothing. The others joined in and tried to attack them, and tried using their Personas.

All of us- me, Yukari, Mitsuru and Yu- tried ability after ability but nothing worked.

The Shadows decided to show us what they could do. The giant male Shadow raised its sword and slammed it to the ground. The strike sent several shockwaves at us and it took everything we had to dodge them. The female Shadow then raised its scepter and a searing inferno emerged and sent me and Yu-kun flying at the wall.

Yukari-chan and Mitsuru-senpai avoided them as Yukari summoned Io and sent a Garu spell at the female Shadow, while Mitsuru-senpai ran toward the male shadow and struck it with her rapier. However, both attack failed and the male Shadow knocked Mitsuru-senpai away with its fist.

"Mitsuru-senpai!" I cried out as she slammed on the ground, but she was still alright… barely.

Yukari backed away. "What's going on?! Nothing works!"

Mitsuru-senpai tried in vain to get up as blood dripped from her lip.

Nothing worked against these things… was this it…? Was this how it ends…? I closed my eyes and tears ran down my face as I whispered what I thought would be my last words.

"Onii-chan… help me… I don't wanna die…"

A flash of green suddenly engulfed the area and right in front of us was the rest of the team. I smiled and fell to the ground on my knees as my brother smiled at me. A teal green haired girl stepped out, and I immediately assumed her to be Fuuka Yamagishi. She gripped her chest and began to breathe heavily.

"What… what are those things…?" she asked in shock.

Mitsuru looked at Akihiko and coughed, "Be careful… normal attacks won't work against these Shadows…"

Without warning, footsteps began to echo throughout the room and we all turned to see a young brunette walk in from outside.

It was Moriyama! But how? She should be in our dorm? Did the Shadows call her?

Yukari gasped, "You…? What are you doing here!?"

The brunette approached Fuuka and looked at her. From the way she appeared, the girl appeared to be in what looked like a trance. She extended her arm to the green haired junior and a tear ran down her face. "Fuuka… I came to say… I'm sorry…"

Fuuka-san walked back and her face showed sheer terror, as she cried out "Moriyama-san! Please get out of here! It's too dangerous!"

The Shadows turned their attention to Fuuka and slowly advanced towards her. Fuuka looked at the Shadows, and then the brunette.

Fuuka looked at her Evoker and backed away. "I need to protect her…! Moriyama-san…!"

Akihiko looked at her with an expression of fear. "Wait…! That's not a real gun!"

Fuuka held the gun to her temple and gripped her chest.

"I know!"

Glass shot out from her head as the obese female Shadow attempted to attack her. I closed my eyes but all of the sudden, the Shadow fell back and screamed in pain. When I looked at Fuuka, she and the brunette were encased in a ball. They were safe, but Fuuka's Persona was nothing like I'd ever seen.

Junpei looked at her with surprise. "A Persona…?"

Suddenly, her voice echoed throughout the room. "I can see… I can sense those monsters weaknesses, somehow…"

Akihiko smiled. "Is that so… Mitsuru! Let her take your place!"

And with that, the room suddenly changed. The stairway disappeared and the entrance hall expanded. I helped Yukari carry Mitsuru away from the battle and Yu-kun walked up next to Fuuka, sword drawn. Again, her voice echoed.

"I'll try and find the enemies weaknesses, just… let me know when!"

Onii-chan held his Evoker at his head and fired, "Pyro Jack!"

A small fireball hit the male Shadow and knocked it over. He then shot the Evoker again, "Jack Frost! Sonic Punch!"

The blue cap wearing snowman Person struck the female Shadow, and it also fell back. Onii-chan turned toward the others, "The Empress Shadow is weak to physical attacks, and the Emperor is weak against magic attacks. Now, let's go!"

And with that, my brother, Akihiko-senpai and Junpei-kun rushed at the Shadows hitting them with everything they had. My brother jumped over the male-like Shadow, doing a small summersault before stabbing his sword right into the female-like Shadow's chest.

The male Shadow was brought down to the ground by repeated attacks of Zio and Agi from Akihiko and Junpei.

It was absolute chaos.

When the dust cleared, however, the two Shadows were still standing. The male Shadow twirled its sword and four colored orbs appeared in front of it. The female Shadow, however, waved its scepter in the air as a strange rainbow formed around the male Shadow, possibly trying to make it stronger.

This doesn't look good...

They took action again, and in one fell swoop, the Emperor Shadow knocked the entire group over. I felt all the air escape from my body and tears formed in my eyes.

How can they be so strong?

* * *

**Normal POV:**

Within the shadows, two figures watched the SEES members being bested by the two Full Moon Shadows.

"They're gonna lose at this rate. Should we help them out?" one figure asked.

"No, not yet. If it gets to the absolute point of defeat, then we will step in…" the other figure answered.

* * *

**Yu's POV**

I ran towards Minato, helping him up and watched as he gripped his chest.

"Dammit… what the hell did the Empress do to Emperor? With just one ability… they knocked us all over…!"

That move the Empress used was Heat Riser. But it looks like Minato doesn't know about that ability. But I have to help them now.

I grabbed my Evoker and pointed the barrel at my chin. A sound of shattering glass echoed through the room as I summoned Raksasha, a Persona of the Strength Arcana. The two Shadows attempted to attack the female-like soldier Persona, but every attack was dodged as Raksasha stabbed Empress in the chest.

The Persona kicked off of her, and directed her attention at Emperor, as I had her cast Garu on the giant Shadow. Once again, they were on the floor.

Now it was Hamuko's turn.

I watched as the younger Arisato aimed her Evoker at her right temple and fired. The blue mist around her spread out around her as the Chariot Persona Ares took form. It drew its sword, but all of the sudden, Emperor Power Charged itself. Its next attack was going to be ugly. The Chariot Persona rushed towards Empress and swung its sword right towards its weakened body, crushing it with the brute force of its blade. Empress screamed, and disintegrated into a small, dark cloud. Ares vanished, and Hamuko fell to her knees.

I then saw to my horror as the Emperor took this opportunity and swung it's sword young girl's neck.

* * *

**Junpei's POV:**

As I was struggling to get back up after that freaking Shadow knocked me down, I saw one of them get killed by Hamuko-chan, but when she collapsed, the bigger Shadow was gonna attack her.

At that moment, I don't know if it was the adrena-something, but I ran over to her, and as I did, time seemed to stop.

"HAMUKO-CHAN!" I yell out as I leaped forward in an attempt to push her out of the way. I did it, but the sword nicked me at the back, and the two of us landed on the ground with her on top of me.

"J-Junpei?" Hamuko gasped as she was blushing. Man, she looks so cute. "Th-Thank you..."

I laugh a little, "Yup. Junpei flyin' in to save the fair maiden."

Hamuko-chan blushed even more from that, as I chuckled at the look on her face, before the cut on my back started hurting.

I wonder if I could get out of school for this?

Hamuko shook herself out of her trance and got off of me, turning her attention back to the son of bitch that attacked her. But I also saw Minato get up, and boy, did he look pissed.

I forgot that older bros tend to be protective of their little sis.

* * *

**Yu's POV:**

Thank goodness... Junpei saved her...

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Minato slowly get back to his feet and looked angry, as he held out his hands.A small glyph formed and six cards were placed on the edges.

He was going to do a Persona fusion in mid-battle? But then again, his power of the Wild Card surpasses mine, so it's not surprising.

The cards collided together and a roar sounded throughout the room. I saw a Persona that I had seen two months earlier. It wore a metal helmet and it was clad in dark-blue gear. A sheath hung out from its waist and coffins surrounded its body like a cape of some sort. It grabbed the Emperor by the mask, and the Persona began to crush it between its hands. It even tried to punch and slash at the Persona, but it was futile, as the Persona slashed both of the Emperor's arms off.

The Emperor continued to struggle and thrash his entire armless body, but they were futile, and with a final roar of bloodlust, the mask was shattered between the Personas white gloves. The Shadow vanished into a dark puddle and Minato called back the Persona he had summoned. The battle was over.

Fuuka collapsed to her knees and took deep breaths. "Is it over...?"

Akihiko nodded. "Yeah, they're gone."

She smiled. "Thank goodness…" She looked at the brunette and smiled. "Are you all right… Moriyama-san…?"

She nodded. "Y-yeah… Fuuka, I…"

She couldn't finish, because no sooner had she nodded, Fuuka fell to the ground, unconscious.

The brunette began to cry and Yukari shuddered. "Mitsuru-senpai… she's a normal person… I don't think it's gonna be fair that she won't remember how Fuuka saved her life…"

Mitsuru nodded. "Yes, but I think its okay…" The brunette was sobbing over Fuuka and kept saying 'I'm sorry' over and over again. "I think she's learned her lesson."

* * *

**Normal POV:**

"They've handled it well…" the cloaked figure stated, as he turned to leave the tower.

The other figure turned to leave as well, "You knew they would win, didn't you?"

"I merely guessed. They're usually correct though. You should have known as well, since you are the King of Bel."

The 'King of Bel' grimaced at that, "But those Shadows had more power than they should've had…"

"It means that the distortions are growing more dangerous. Their next trail will be more tasking. But there's another threat that concerns me more…"

"Which is…?"

The cloaked figure stopped and looked at his companion, "… The other Persona-users…"

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed it.

I worked harder on the battle scenes here.

But who was that cloaked guy that saved Fuuka from the Reaper? He had a gunblade on him.

And did anyone enjoy that little JunpeixHamuko moment?

Well anyways, be sure to leave a review about your thoughts.


	22. Chapter 21: The New Transfer Student

Persona 3 Plus 1

By Shunto

It's been a long time since my last update… sorry for all you fans who were waiting.

So, here's chapter 21 guys… please enjoy and remember to review; they really brighten my day.

* * *

_Chapter 21: The New Transfer Student_

_Normal POV_

The night after the previous challenge of the Full Moon, two figures were fighting within the halls of the Tower of Demise, as the sound of swords clashing against one another could be heard if anyone else had been present.

One figure was the cloaked savior of Fuuka, while the other was the one called the 'King of Bel'.

The cloaked warrior jumped back and shifted his sword into a gun and fired, while the other dodged a few of the shots and blocked the others with his sword that emanated a dark energy.

The cloaked warrior ran at the King of Bel at an impressive speed and swung his sword, which was blocked. However, the cloaked warrior then reached out with his left arm and tried to grab his opponent's face. The King of Bel ducked in time to avoid it, but realized that it was a trap when he got kicked in the stomach, launching him back a few feet.

As the King of Bel struggled to get back up, the cloaked warrior ran up to him again and disarmed him of his sword, rendering the King of Bel defenseless, as he now had a sword pointed at his neck.

The King of Bel sighed as he raised his arms in defeat, "Look like you win again."

The cloaked warrior sheathed his sword inside his cloak and turned around, before replying, "You've improved, though…"

"Yeah, but the amount of power you have is quite amazing. You could take on a Shadow army and not break a sweat," the King of Bel commented.

"Maybe, but I lack the experience you and the Wild Card holder possess. And you know that my power is still… unstable…" the cloaked warrior commented.

The blue haired teen thought about it for a minute, "That's true…"

"Anyways, tomorrow you are to enter the Gekkoukan High and watch over the group. I already have you registered in to the school database and even have the necessary paperwork submitted," the cloaked warrior ordered.

"Was that really necessary?" the teen questioned.

"Yes. We need to keep a better watch over them, or they'll run into a situation that'll get them killed. And with your power added in the group, you'll be able to better assist them," the other figure explained.

"I guess…" the King of Bel accepted, "Anyways, the hour is almost finished. We should get going."

With that, the blue haired teen walked out of the exit. Before the cloaked warrior also left, he turned to have one last look at a peculiar blue door that he could see… but never enter. He then left as the Dark Hour ended, and night had returned.

* * *

_Yu's POV_

Light streamed into my room and I felt the sudden urge to pull the blinds shut and go back to sleep. But I knew better.

For one, Mitsuru-senpai would 'execute' me. Minato told me about her 'executions' and I did NOT want to be on the receiving end of whatever she would do.

I picked up my bag, and left the dorm. A short ride on the monorail took me to Port Island Station and it took me about 10 minutes to arrive at Gekkoukan High. I saw Mitsuru talk to Minato, and wrong as it was, I decided to snoop in on their conversation.

The red-head brushed her hair out of her face and smiled. "You'll be glad to know that Yamagishi and the other girls are healing up well." The blue haired teen nodded. "So what next?" The senior cleared her throat and grinned sheepishly. "We'll invite her to the dorm tonight and explain who we are. Her powers will be very useful."

I rolled my eyes and made my way to class 2-F. No sooner had I opened the door was I greeted by gossip sounding throughout the 2nd-year classroom. Truthfully, gossip and rumors never interested me- I guess that's the Dojima part of me. My thoughts drifted off to my uncle, Ryotaro Dojima. He's a detective in the rural town of Yasoinaba. It's a nice place. I remember how I helped him come to terms with his wife's- my aunt's- death, as she was killed in a hit and run and he had been determined to find the guy. Knowing that I helped point out that the past is the past and he was only running from himself, which finally led him to realize that Inaba wasn't a town- it's where my younger cousin Nanako and I live.

Personally, I like Inaba better than Kyoto. Most people would look at me like I'm nuts, but it's their opinion.

I don't pay attention to lies or people's opinions- I look at the facts.

But some part of me couldn't help but listen in on the conversation between the students.

"Hey, another transfer student's coming in."

"Another one? Damn, this is, what, the fourth this year?"

"I think it's a boy... he's from Tokyo apparently."

I rolled my eyes and doodled some pictures in my notebook until the bell rang. and Ms Toriumi came in. Thankfully, the class finally shut up.

She cleared her throat and smiled. "Alright class, we have yet another transfer student. He's from Tokyo and a second-year in high school. He's here to study abroad, and he also scored top marks in the most recent standardized testing."

I shot up. Top marks in the nationals? There were people who smart? Damn... maybe I should shake his hand...

The door creaked open and a young boy walked in.

For a second, I thought reality was playing a trick on me and Minato had pulled off a Houdini by being in 'two places at the same time.' Granted, he was wearing a different wardrobe, but his hair style made him look exactly like the field leader of SEES.

He turned to face the class and smiled, placing his hands in his pockets while doing so.

"My name is Kazuya Minegishi. As Toriumi-sensei stated, I scored the highest on the last standardized tests... I hope we can all get along."

He finished with a bow which earned a sigh from several of the girls.

And here I thought Akihiko was the 'ladies man.' Come on, people... pick a side...

Kazuya was seated in the corner next to Hamuko-san and class continued like that through the rest of the day.

Lunch finally came around, and the sky was clear as day. I walked over to the other SEES members- minus Akihiko and Mitsuru- and smiled.

"Wanna go to the roof for lunch?"

They all agreed, and in a few minutes we were all sitting on the roof, eating our lunches.

During the middle of break, I heard the door open. Turning around, I saw the transfer student, Kazuya. I didn't know what he had done, but I could narrow it down to about six possibilities.

One- He wants to be friendly with us and maybe become a friend.

Two- He's a Persona-user and wants to join us... though I had no idea how he could possibly know about SEES.

Three- Same as two, but he's here to kill us... which I find unlikely, though I can't rule it out.

Four- He got lost... very likely, since he just got here, and I can relate.

Five- He wants to ask us how to get somewhere... they have maps of the campus at the faculty office, but they were made about six years ago...

Six- Other.

I ran the options through my head and managed to narrow it down to possibilities one, two, four and six. Three and five were out of the question.

He walked up to us and smiled, giving us a friendly wave. "Yo."

Junpei smiled sheepishly and rubbed his head. "Yo, uh... Kazuya, right?"

The new student nodded and sat down, arm folded over one leg. "Yep... you guys busy?"

Minato shook his head and took a bite of his ganmodoki. "Just eating lunch. Why? Something wrong?"

Kazuya shrugged and pulled out a small wooden container. He opened it up and inside was some pretty nice looking things- bento, some ganmadoki, radish, potato salad, and sushi. He picked up his chopsticks and began eating as Junpei looked at him in disbelief.

"Isn't that a bit much for one guy?" he asked.

Kazuya chuckled and took a large piece of sushi from his box. "I guess, but when you're hungry, you want to eat more, right? Basic knowledge."

Yukari sighed and proceeded to eat her bento, which had grown slightly cold.

After we finished eating, lunch break ended and the rest of the day went by peacefully. And it took no longer than about twenty minutes to get back to the dorm where everyone waited for us.

* * *

_Hamuko's POV_

Wow, that transfer student, Kazuya I think, looked a lot like Onii-chan. But I wasn't really thinking much about that. In fact, during most of the day, my mind drifted off to a certain guy that I'd never expect.

Junpei-kin…

Argh! Why am I thinking of that attention seeking, unmotivated, perverted guy in such a way?! But… he was pretty brave in that last fight… and he did save me…

"Yo! 'Sup, Hamuko-chan," a voice interrupted my thoughts. Speak of the devil. I could already feel my cheeks burning just from hearing his voice.

Argh! Calm the hell down!

I try not to turn around so that he wouldn't see my face all flushed, "W-what is it?"

Stop stuttering!

Junpei started walking next to me in the hallway of the dorm.

"Oh well, Mitsuru-senpai told us to head for the command room so that we could get Fuuka-chan to join us after we explain to her what the deal is," Junpei explained.

"I… see," I respond, trying very hard not to look his way. God, why the hell do I feel this way for him?

"Hn? You doin' okay, Hamuko-chan?" Junpei asked. I could tell that he was worried from his voice.

"I-It's nothing. Really," I answer.

"Oh, I get it," Junpei said.

What? No, he can't already tell, could he?

"You must still be feelin' tired from that last fight. Man, that was a close one. You nearly got killed by that freakin' Shadow. Luckily the hero Junpei was there to save the day," Junpei explained in a bragging voice in that last statement.

I couldn't help but laugh a little at that. Junpei is quite funny at times. Not to mention how cute he gets at times.

… Wait? Did I just think that _Junpei_ was _cute?_ Oh god, I must have gotten a concussion from that last fight.

I then headed straight for the command room, with Junpei in tow, who was asking on what I thought was so funny.

When Junpei and I entered the command room, we saw the others already there. Ikutsuki-san was at the head of the table, and we took our seats, although I sat _away_ from Junpei.

Ikutsuski smiled at us and turned to face Fuuka, who was sitting on the couch with her hands on her knees. Ikutsuki adjusted his glasses and chuckled softly. "So, you must be Fuuka. I think all of you will be glad to know that the three girls have all regained consciousness."

Fuuka sighed a breath of relief, "Thank goodness..."

The older man continued, "Apparently, the facts got confused with a ghost story at the school... which led people to believe Fuuka's spirit had done the events."

Yukari smiled. "I knew right from the beginning it wasn't a ghost..."

I silently laughed at that. It's so cute how Yukari got so worked up over a ghost. I can tell why Onii-chan loves her so much. I always see him giving her those _looks_. Hmm… I wonder…

Before I could think any further, Mitsuru-senpai stood up and brushed her knees before turning to face the younger girl. She cleared her throat and smiled. "First of all, you must be wondering what you're doing here..."

We explained everything to her- Personas, the Shadows, Tartarus and the Dark Hour. It took a while but Fuuka finally managed to believe everything we were saying. Mitsuru handed her a small shiny case with an armband and an Evoker inside. She brushed her hair aside and grabbed Fuuka's shoulder. "Your power will be very useful to us... will you assist us?"

Yukari stood up, obviously against it but before she could say anything, Fuuka grabbed the Evoker and smiled. "I'll do it!"

Yukari was taken aback by this. "Wait... what!? But that means you'll have to live her-"

Fuuka nodded. "That's fine... I'd rather live here anyway..."

I guess I can understand both Yukari and Fuuka's reasons. Fuuka wants to be of help to us, and Yukari is worried that we're forcing Fuuka into this. I can understand them both.

Ikutsuki-san adjusted his glasses and put his arms under his chin. "Now... apparently what Akihiko said was true. Those Shadows we've encountered appear on full moons. So this may mean we could have a tactical advantage."

Onii-chan smiled. "Yeah... if we know what we're doing, we can spread our days out much easier between going to Tartarus and studying for school."

I looked at the ground and smiled. From now on, we knew what to do... but as I went to my room shortly after, avoiding Junpei, I noticed that Onii-chan seemed depressed. I didn't know what to say, but he looked like something didn't add up.

What that was, I'd never know...

* * *

_Minato POV_

This doesn't make any sense. We didn't get another transfer student in school like this. It was supposed to be Aigis, and later Ryoji. So who's this Kazuya? Could he be…? It's possible…

I try to get some sleep, but I just couldn't. I look at the time on my cell phone and notice that it's almost midnight.

Man, this sucks!

As soon as I thought that, my phone started ringing. I look at the caller ID, and it says 'Unknown Caller'. Sigh, I have a feeling I know who this is.

"Hello?"

"You did well on your last battle. You've grown stronger," a voice spoke. That doesn't sound like Kazuya, so maybe Kazuya wasn't the one… but still…

"What do you want?" I ask.

"Just to commend you on that last battle. I also noticed that you have a new member of your team. She'll be very useful for you," he answered.

How does this guy know everything? Wait, was he…?

"Were you the one that saved Fuuka when she was attacked?" I ask.

"Yes. I kept a close watch on her during the time she spent in the Tower. She nearly died from a powerful Shadow. So I intervened and assisted her," the caller responded.

So he _did _save Fuuka. Who is he? I have to find out now. It's almost Dark Hour.

"Who are you?" I demand.

The caller was silent for a moment, before finally speaking again, "Alright, since you did well last time, I'll leave you a name you can call me by…"

11:59:55…11:59:56…11:59:57…

"You can call me…"

11:59:58…11:59:59…

"Midnight."

12:00:00

The phone went dead as the Dark Hour appeared.

Midnight? Oh the irony in both the name and the timing.

But… whoever this Midnight is… I better keep an eye out. There are still so many things I don't know about this guy. But he seems to know basically everything about me.

I finally feel myself getting sleepy, so I lied back on bed and fell asleep.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER 21.

How was it? Did you guys enjoy it? Be sure to review it.

Now we know what the cloaked guy's name is, Midnight. Ironic indeed Minato.

And we also know who the king of Bel is, Kazuya Minegishi. You guys, know who he is, right? If not, review to me about it and I'll answer you.

But the fact that this Midnight was able to beat Kazuya, the King of Bel… he MUST be strong. But how strong? And what did he mean by 'unstable'?

Well, be sure to review. And I'll try to update a little faster next time.


	23. Chapter 22: Realizations, New Candidate

Persona 3 Plus 1

By Shunto

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!

First of all, the so-called 'apocalypse' never happened. It's stupid that a kid at my school actually said it was gonna happen for certain.

Anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy this fanfic, and any reviews from you are wholly appreciated.

Also, just for the hell of it, I'm gonna start put 'facts of the day' here every now and then. They'll mainly relate to the SMT/Persona series or any other game series ATLUS has their fingers in.

Hope you enjoy!

_Fact of the Day: The American release of Megami Ibunroku Persona for the PlayStation was heavily translated, with nearly all traces of Japanese removed. No honorifics were in the game, and more people ended up downloading a fan-translation instead. The PSP port, Revelations Persona had many more sales than its original PS1 predecessor._

* * *

_Chapter 22: Realizations and a New Candidate_

_2 days later…_

_Hamuko's POV_

Morning came quickly and I immediately found myself running down the stairwell with my knapsack swung over my shoulder. The moment I arrived at the lounge, I plopped down on the couch and grabbed a magazine from the side table. I skimmed a few pages but for some reason, I couldn't focus. Something-more specifically someone- was on my mind.

That person, obviously, was Junpei Iori.

Alright, now I know something's wrong with me. I've had crushes before, but this is ridiculous. I've had a crush on Akihiko-senpai and Yu-kun. Heck, I've even had a crush on Onii-chan at times. So why am I thinking of Junpei so much like this?

I put the magazine down and closed my eyes tightly. All I had to do was think about something other than Junpei.

A good ten minutes passed and for that whole time, I couldn't get my mind off of the baseball-loving Persona-user.

I let out a huge sigh and covered my head with my arm.

I wanted to deny it. I wanted to completely forget about it. I wanted to desperately remove all traces of exactly what I was thinking from my head.

But that was impossible. I had to admit the cold hard truth.

I am in love with Junpei Iori.

"Yo! You're up early, Hamuko-chan," the voice of someone I know well, called.

Oh god. Why here? Why now…?

I folded my magazine over and smiled at him, "Morning, Junpei-kun."

He smiled back and sat next to me on the couch which caused my face to flush red.

Junpei let out a soft yawn and groaned, "Man, I didn't sleep well at all last night... stayed up working on a damn math problem..."

I chuckled softly and saw Junpei frown, "C'mon... it ain't funny... I really suck at math."

He pulled his hat down and sighed, "Hamuko... listen. You're really smart and... damn, this is gonna make me sound like such an ass..."

I smiled. "Let me guess... you want me to tutor you, I take it?"

His eyes went wide and he chuckled. "Damn, nothing ever gets past you... you psychic or something? Anyway, yeah, I uh, want you to tutor me..."

I smiled. Helping him out... maybe we could get a little closer. "Sure," I said, "Ask me when you want to study and we'll go to the library or something. By the way, what do you have trouble on? Knowing what I need to tutor you on is really gonna help me with knowing what to bring."

He looked up. "It's two things, actually. Angles of triangles and identifying the Fibonacci series."

I nodded and wrote down what he said in my notebook. We talked for a few more minutes until everyone came down and we went to school.

Maybe being in love with Junpei won't really be a bad thing…

* * *

_Yu's POV_

The monorail to school seemed faster than usual. Normally it was about fifteen, twenty minutes tops before we would arrive at Port Island Station. But I guess today's just a fast day.

I slumped in my seat and groaned.

"Mind if I sit here?"

I looked up to see the face of Kazuya Minegishi, the transfer student from the other day.

He raised an eyebrow and slumped his shoulder down slightly.

"Yo, mind if I sit next to you?" he repeated.

I smiled and nodded, "Go ahead."

Kazuya took a seat next to me and sighed.

"Hey Yu. I was wondering if maybe tonight we can have a study session. I could stop by your place so that study the things Ekoda mentioned."

I looked at him oddly. Isn't he supposed to be really smart? He seemed to know what I was thinking, because he added, "As smart as I am, that Ekoda guy was so boring, I fell asleep and missed some notes."

Oh, that explains it. Ekoda is the most boring teacher in school. Seriously, why do we even have a teacher like him? Mitsuru-senpai should've had him fired.

"Alright, stop by the dorm later tonight," I say.

Kazuya smiled, "Thanks Yu. Man, only been here a few days and I already need help with schoolwork. How embarrassing."

"It's okay. Ekoda-sensei is the worst teacher in school. It's not really surprising that even a genius like you'd get confused," I encouraged.

Kazuya smiled, "Thanks. You know, ever since I met you and the others, I felt some strange force awaken inside me. I feel that things are going to get interesting from here on."

I wonder what he means by that…?

Oh well… class started like normal and we started to listen to Mrs. Terauchi start her lecture. But as the lecture went on, I suddenly got the feeling that something big would happen tonight.

* * *

_Kazuya POV_

Okay, that was close.

Dammit! Did he _have _to make it so that I'm a genius? Thank goodness that Ekoda's such a bore, otherwise I'd never have thought of an excuse.

But now the preparations for tonight are ready. Now I just have to play my part.

* * *

_Yukari POV_

After class ended, I was practicing in the archery club. But I wasn't able to fully concentrate, so my shots were a bit off target.

After all, lately I've been having weird dreams. Most of them involving my dorm/classmate Minato.

I don't understand why I've been having them at all. And why did so many of my dreams involve me and Minato-kun… dating? We held hands, we sometimes kissed, and one where we…

OH MY GOD! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!

I could feel my face flush from that memory, and I accidentally shot my arrow way off target. Luckily, I didn't hit anyone.

There is _definitely _something wrong with me.

"Hey, Yukari-chan," I hear the voice of my club member, Yumi call me. I turn to see her along with another member, Kasumi.

"Oh hey, Yumi-chan. Kasumi-chan," I greet. I usually hang out with them whenever I'm out of school.

"Hey Yukari-chan, you've been acting a little off lately. Is something the matter?" Yumi asked concerned.

"I'm okay. I'm just tired. That's all," I explain. Kasumi looked at me oddly, before smirking. This doesn't look good.

"I know. Maybe it involves a certain blue-haired transfer student?" she inquired with a grin.

I immediately start blushing, "What are you talking about? I'm not thinking of Minato-kun at all!"

"I don't recall saying Mianto-kun's name," Kasumi said with her grin getting wider, "I was talking about Kazuya Minegishi, the student that transferred here two days ago."

Oh crap! I completely forgot about him. Yumi started having the same grin has her as her eyes sparkled in mischief.

"So Yukari-chan, spill. What's the deal with you and Minato-kun?" Yumi asked, "After all, on the very first day, you two walked together here."

Oh you've gotta be kidding me. They're still at it with that day?

"Look, Minato and I have nothing going on. We're just classmates. That's all," I explain.

I say that, but why does a part of me hurt from saying that?

Minato and I are just friends… right?

* * *

_Minato's POV_

School ended like it normally did, but as I was about to go home, I remembered something. So I hurried to the person who I wished to talk to, leaving my bag behind.

"Fuuka," I call. The shy girl turns and looks at me curiously.

"Um… Minato-san, right?" she asks shyly.

"Yes. And no need to be formal, Fuuka. I actually wanted to ask you something," I responded.

"Um… sure. What is it?" she asks.

"During your time in the Dark Hour, you stayed there for 10 days, but in actuality, 10 hours. I want to know, what happened whenever the Dark Hour ended? Do you know, since you've been there?" I ask.

Fuuka thought about it for a while before she shook her head and answered, "Sorry Minato-kun. Whenever the Dark Hour ended, I black out, so I don't know what happens, but I do know that I can't sense Shadows as soon as I start blacking out. Like they just suddenly vanish."

I see…

"Thank you Fuuka," I say, before waving goodbye to her. She waved back.

So whenever the Dark Hour ends, everyone in it vanishes with Tartarus. Does that mean that Shadows and people just cease to exist whenever it ends? Or maybe they get taken to another dimension?

Argh! Too may questions, not enough answers. If I could answer these questions, maybe I then I could find a way to defeat Nyx without becoming the Great Seal. Even after Tartarus was destroyed, we never solved all of its mysteries. Will I be able to now, with this second chance?

As I return to class to get my bag, I notice Yukari and two other girls talking, as I left the classroom. I remember Yukari always hanging out with them before, but I never really recalled their names. Mostly since I never talked to them.

"Hey Yukari," I call out. I see Yukair and the other two girls turn around. What struck me as odd was Yukari's face looking all red, and the other two girls giggling behind her. Wonder what's wrong…?

"M-Minato, what is it?" Yukari stutters.

I walk over to her, "Just wanted to say hi," I then drop my voice to a whisper, "And to also let you know that we'll go to Tartarus tonight."

Yukari nodded and then left with the two other girls in tow, barraging her with questions. I sigh at seeing Yukari leave.

How I want to just take her into my arms and kiss her right there in front of everybody. My heart aches to be with her. But I know that it can't happen. Not yet at least. I have to wait… until Yakushima… but the wait alone hurts. Dammit!

Sigh… I have to remain calm. I can't get myself all worked up. I then proceed to leave the school.

But as I was leaving, I noticed a girl that I never seen before standing in front of the school gate. She had golden blonde hair, clear blue eyes, and fair skin. She was wearing a white shirt and black pants, along with a blue jacket and a sky blue scarf, which is odd since it's not really cold out now. Is she a foreigner, like Bebe? I walk up to her.

"Excuse me, are you a student?" I ask. She turned and smiled at me.

"No, I'm not a student," she said in perfect Japanese. Strange…

"I see. So why are you standing here?" I couldn't help but ask.

She looked at the school with a smile, "I was just admiring the view here of the school…"

What a strange girl…

The girl turned back to me and extended her hand to me, "My name's Selena. Selena Sorensen."

I pause for a minute, before taking her hand and shaking it, "My name's Minato Arisato. It's nice to meet you."

Then suddenly, I hear the sound of a shattering glass in my head as I see a Tarot Card appear in front of me. A voice starts ringing in my head.

_Thou art I… and I am thou…_

_Thou hast established a new bond…_

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating_

_Personas of the Strength Arcana…_

The card vanished and I felt a little dizzy. But wait, this girl is Strength? Just like Yuko…

"Well Minato, I hope that we can meet again. Until next time…" and with that, she walked away, leaving me with my thoughts.

Why are there new people who I'm forming these Social Links with?

* * *

_Normal POV_

The night had arrived as Kazuya Minegishi arrived in his house and noticed someone already inside. He sighed as he noticed someone in a cloak sitting on the sofa.

"What are you doing here, Midnight?" Kazuya asked.

Midnight got up and turned to Kazuya, "To know if you're ready. Tonight's the night, after all."

"Yes, I know that. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something. Why did you have me registered as a genius to the school?" Kazuya asked.

Midnight tilted his head, "Was there something wrong with that?"

Kazuya sighed, "Yes."

"I see. Well, it's too late to change it now. You'll have to endure it for the rest of the year. That is, _if_ we have the year at all," Midnight responded nonchalantly.

Kazuya's phone started ringing as Kazuya check to see a text message, "Yu has to cancel the study session, cause something came up."

"This is it. Be ready when the Dark Hour approaches…" Midnight stated before leaving the house.

Kazuya slumped down to his sofa, "Man, why couldn't _he_ be the one to go to school…?"

* * *

_Yu POV_

Man, I can't believe that I had to cancel on Kazuya. He'll probably get the wrong idea. I should try and explain to him tomorrow.

When the others and I had returned to the dorm, Fuuka was sitting on the couch working on a laptop. "Hi, how was your day?" She looked down slightly. "Uh, I'll be substituting for Mitsuru-senpai from now on... so please tell me when you want to go to Tartarus."

When Minato declared that we were gonna go explore Tartarus tonight, I had to cancel on Kazuya.

As we all left the dorm and headed for school, I started to feel that someone was coming our way. The others seemed to have felt it too.

As the others and I turned around, we saw to our shock Kazuya Minegishi walk to ward us, with a confused look on his face at seeing us.

"Kazuya? What are you doing here?" I ask. What is he doing out this late at night?

"Well, I sort of fell asleep when I finished my homework, and when I woke up, I saw the time and I hurried to your dorm, but it was empty, so when I was walking back, I arrived here. What are you guys doing here, though?" Kazuya explained.

I felt myself get tongue-tied as I tried to think of an explanation. Oh I hope Mitsuru-senpai has an explanation.

But right before any of us could say something, the Dark Hour arrived. But to my shock I saw that Kazuya still there, and not in a coffin.

Kazuya looked around and started to rub his eyes, "What the-? Guys, is it just me, or did everything just turn green?"

Oh dear. Kazuya has the potential. I look around and see everyone else have a shocked face, but none more than Minato. Actually, if Minato's been through this before, then I'm pretty sure that he should know who's gonna be in SEES or not. Does that mean that Kazuya's…?

Mitsuru-senpai stepped forward, "Looks like we have a new candidate with the potential. We'll cancel tonight's exploration and discuss this with the Chairman. Minegishi-san, we'll explain this to you another time, for now, I believe that you should go home and rest."

So we have might make Kazuya join SEES as well?

Kazuya still looks confused, but nods and leaves to return home.

"Are you sure that we should let him go home alone?" Yukari asks concerned.

"It's alright. I could feel a strong power coming from him. I don't think that the Shadows will attack him," Fuuka reassures, but Yukari still looked a little worried.

"Alright, everyone, we'll cancel tonight's exploration and discuss this with the Chairman. I apologize for any inconvenience," Mitsuru apologized.

"Man, now we're gonna get another guy. And this one looks like Minato's clone" Junpei whined. Hamuko giggled at the comparison, but Minato didn't seem to be listening at all. He had a very serious expression on his face.

I hope that he'll tell us about it later. I'm quite curious myself…

* * *

_Minato POV_

A new member that even I didn't know about? This is too much.

New faces, new powers, new links, new members… are these to help in for the upcoming battles?

I hope so…

… So many questions, not enough answers. And not enough time either…

* * *

_Normal POV_

"Kazuya should be an actor when he grows up. That was some first class acting," the cloaked figure known as Midnight commented to himself as he watched the group return home from the shadows.

"Heh… everything went according to plan. With this, the group will become stronger and will less likely get killed. But that doesn't mean that they're out of the woods yet…" and with that, Midnight left under the veil of darkness.

* * *

End of Chapter 23

So how was it? Did you like it?

What did you think of the MiantoxYukari moment there? It looks like Yukari's developing feelings for Minato earlier than before.

And now SEES knows that Kazuya has the potential. Will he be an asset?

And I also added a new Social Link OC. Hope you guys enjoyed it.

Well, be sure to review. And I hope that you enjoy the new year.


	24. Chapter 23: To the Top of Arqa

Persona 3 Plus 1

By Shunto

Alright, I'm pretty damn aware that I'm late…

Stuff has been happening. Yeah, I've probably used this excuse like a hundred times now, but my life is rough, people…

Anyway, I hope all of you are enjoying this story and allow me to say this: if you don't have something nice to say in your reviews, don't say anything. Just FYI.

Now, I don't own ATLUS, the SMT or Persona series or any other game company out there… I WISH I did…

* * *

_Chapter 23: To the Top of Arqa_

_Kazuya's POV_

I woke up to the bright glare of the sun in the temporary room I was assigned at the dorm. The pieces had been set and I had followed Midnight's strategy to join SEES as a guardian. Today I was to report to the Command Room for some 'testing.'

I was worried because the very word sounded strange and somewhat painful.

I ascended the stairs to the fourth floor and entered the large room where Mitsuru-senpai and Ikutsuki-san were waiting for me. Upon my arrival, the chairman sat up and smiled.

"Welcome, Kazuya-kun. I'm Shuji Ikutsuki, the school boards chairman. It's a pleasure to meet you." He extended his hand and I followed suit.

"Pleasure's all mine, sir." He released his grip and sat back down. A small stool was next to me so I plopped down on it and smiled, listening to what he was about to say. The older man cleared his throat and pushed his glasses back up.

"Now then, last night, at twelve midnight, you entered a special time of day known as the Dark Hour."

I shoved my hands in my pockets. "The Dark Hour, huh…"

Its fun to act ignorant at times, but it can grow tiring as well.

Mitsuru twirled a lock of her crimson red hair between her fingers. "During this time, a regular person transmogrifies into a coffin, but there are exceptions- you are one of them."

Ikutsuki smiled. "Those people are able to avoid being transmogrified, and experience the Dark Hour in their human form- some may even awaken to a power that allows them to fight monsters called Shadows, beasts that only appear during said time."

I sat up straight. "What is that power called?"

Mitsuru chuckled and folded her arms. "We call this power 'Persona.' We call people who can use this power Persona-users, and only they can enter physical combat with Shadows."

I got up and stretched. "So in short… you want me to help you, I take it?"

The chairman nodded. "Indeed we do. However, there are a few tests you must perform so we can analyze your Persona abilities."

I smiled. "Well, let's get started!"

This might be easier than I thought. Midnight sure planned this well.

* * *

_Hamuko's POV_

I had no plans for today but that didn't stop me from being surprised when Yukari called me up for something. My phone rang and when I flipped the cover open, Yukari's name was displayed on my small monitor. I held it to my ear and smiled, happy my bestest friend was calling me.

"Yello, Yukari! What's happening?"

Laughter filled the other end, and soon it faded off. "Nothing much, Hamuko- I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out today, cause I've, um... I've got something important to tell you..."

I rolled my eyes and put my shoes on, eager to spend the day with a fellow girl. That's probably a bit sexist but being around a majority of guys gets to you eventually.

"Alright, Chagall Cafe, in 10 minutes?"

"Deal. See you there, Hamuko," Yukari agreed as she hung up.

I hung up, went down the stairs and headed off to our destination, where I arrived first. I thanked myself for choosing Tennis team. Yukari arrived shortly after and we went in together, where we ordered some coffee and took a seat at a table. The girl in front of me broke the ice after a few minutes of blushing and sipping her hot drink.

"So, um... I wanted to let you know... I've decided to find a boyfriend." Her face turned beet red and I put on a small smile, which caused her face to become even redder.

"S-stop smiling like that! This is serious you know..." I laughed and sipped my coffee. "I'm happy for you, Yukari. So who do you think you'll go out with?"

She looked down at the floor and sighed. "I dunno. Some of the guys are just... idiots."

I have to wonder what caused the change. I didn't think that she'd want to get a boyfriend anytime soon.

I don't know what I was thinking but a plan went off in my head. I'd noticed for a while now that Onii-chan had a crush on Yukari, so here's what I thought- what if I brought them together BEFORE summer vacation? I didn't know if it'd work or not, but it was worth a shot. We finished our coffee, and went back to the dorm. On the monorail, I sent Onii-chan an email from my phone with info that my best friend was looking for a boyfriend.

I bet he'll be in for a surprise…

* * *

_Minato's POV_

Every day is like a brand new adventure. I wake up, eat something and leave the dorm to experience the world and everything it has to offer.

On some occasions, this doesn't happen and instead I'm left with a cold empty feeling in my chest.

Today, thankfully, was not one such day.

We had the day off from school since it was Sunday, but I was pretty bummed by the fact that we couldn't go to Tartarus yesterday.

Kazuya had recently started taking the tests for 'potential' and both Ikutsuki and Mitsuru said that the results would most likely be in this evening, which was quite rare.

I looked over at my computer and saw that my inbox was flashing. Upon inspection, I noticed that there were several new messages.

I sighed and clicked on the first one, which was from my sister.

_hi nii-chan!1! :3 guess wut, yukari is lookin for a boyfriend. want me to hook u and her up? –hamuko_

I felt my face heat up and beads of sweat roll down my forehead. Without thinking, I typed in a reply.

YES. DO SO ASAP.

I hit SEND. By the time reason took over, I reflected on what I just did. No matter what Hamuko does, Yukari and I won't actually get together until after Yakushima, so why did I…? Forget it.

I then proceeded to read the next message on my inbox list. The sender was listed as Mitsuru.

_Hello, Arisato._

_You're probably not accustomed to receiving an email from me, but let this be the first. It's more or less a reminder. Please remember to come to the command room tonight._

_Mitsuru_

I smiled. Mitsuru had such a serious air around her, which made my mind drift off to the ass of her fiancé. I didn't _love_ Mitsuru, but people who hurt her weren't my favorite acquaintances. She was kind, smart and very adept at battle.

I moved to the next message, which was from Kenji.

_Dude, I am in deep, deep shit… whole school knows about me and Emiri… can we meet up and talk about this soon?_

_Kenji_

I sighed and rubbed my hair. Emiri had let something 'slip' about Kenji and her relationship with him. I won't let her off this time. Kenji's a great guy that didn't deserve to by hurt by someone like her. I clicked reply and typed a few sentences.

_Sure. After school tomorrow, if I don't have anything else planned. Don't panic, Kenji- I'm here for you._

_Minato_

I sent the message and saw that the last one was from Maya… or Ms. Toriumi. I recently started playing Innocent Sin Online once again, and in my original journey, Maya helped me discover the power of the Hermit Arcana. The message was just an invite, as she apparently wanted to play with me. I logged on and began.

My character, Tatsuya, generated and spawned onto the field in the hub zone, Lunervale Hospital, where Maya paced back and forth in the room. I stayed still and watched the chat log.

_Maya: i hope tatsuya gets here soon… gawd im so nervous TT_TT_

I smiled and typed into the chat bar.

_Tatsuya: Hurry up and tell me._

I watched as Maya's avatar jumped slightly and turn to face me.

_Maya: AAAAAAHHH Tatsuya how long have u been standing there!?1?!_

I chuckled and looked at the ceiling. Man, I got a kick whenever she panicked. How she acts here and in real life is completely different. I typed in another reply.

_Tatsuya: For a while, I guess. So what did you want to tell me?_

Maya wiped her forehead and paced back and forth.

_Maya: well u have to promise me that ya wont tell anybody._

I had Tatsuya bow and typed some more.

_Tatsuya: I promise._

Maya did a cheer and then turned around.

_Maya: well im kinda... interested in someone from school... but there is a problem_

I smiled. So she's fallen for me... no surprise there. My hands danced on the keyboard, typing in replies.

_Tatsuya: What's he like?_

Maya giggled and paced a bit.

_Maya: well hes really quiet and smart and super kind (and hawt) thing is hes a student! i never thought id fall for one of my own students tatsuya!_

And yet here you are, telling the guy you have a crush on that you like him, unknowingly. I rolled my eyes and typed some more.

_Tatsuya: Tell me some more about him._

Maya turned red and spun around.

_Maya: well his parents died ten yrs ago but i'll comfort him! but dont worry tatsuya! your the only game partner for me!_

I smiled, wondering if Toriumi knew that I was, in fact, Tatsuya. I doubt it, though. A card appeared in front of me-The Hermit- to symbolize my bond with Maya had grown even deeper. I logged off and checked the time, only to realize I had to be at the Command Room. Why are video games so time consuming? I ran up the stairs but unwittingly tripped and fell right into... Yukari. I scrambled back as we both got up and I saw that her face turned beet red.

"M-M-M-Minato! What are you- Where did- why did you run into me?!"

I blocked my face and felt my cheeks heat up. "I'm so, so sorry Yukari! I didn't know you were there!"

She didn't do anything and I lowered my arms. I tried to say something but the words would come out. She couldn't say anything either. For the next fifteen minutes we stood there, eyes on the ground, not wanting to say or do anything. How awkward could you get?

Eventually Junpei, Akihiko, Hamuko, Yu and Fuuka came up, the latter two looking at the two of us with wide eyes.

"Onii-chan? Why are you looking at the ground in front of Yukari and why are the both of your cheeks beet red?"

We both faced them and looked away when Yukari finally spoke.

"He uh, we ran into each other! But it was pure accident!"

I nodded. "Yeah, I just tripped and fell into her! But nothing else happened!"

Junpei tipped his cap and sighed. "Well, I wonder how Kazuya's doing..." He went into the command room with the others following suit... leaving me and the lady of the Lovers Arcana standing in the hallway. She walked up to me and grabbed my shoulders.

"Listen to me... this never happened. Okay?"

I nodded went into the command room, leaving her in the hallway.

* * *

_Yukari POV_

I must have stayed in the hallway for what seemed like an eternity. I didn't know what to do, and I felt my face get progressively warmer.

I... I wasn't _mad_ at Minato-kun at all, but after those dreams I'd been having, things seemed unusual. Now I'm wondering why I even told Minako that I'm looking for a boyfriend? When I told her that, I immediately started to think of Minato, which can't happen, right? I pulled out my cell phone and looked at something I'd grown attached to.

It was a cute little cell phone strap with a little bear on the end.

My dad gave it to me when I was little... six if I'm right. When things were going rough, I'd talk to him. My mom said it was a sign of schizophrenia, but I had no one to tell how I felt.

I just stared at it for a while before letting my arms fall to my sides.

"What am I supposed to do...? Someone tell me..."

Of course no one was going to respond- it was an empty hallway, for one. Why am I feeling this way all of a sudden? I wish I had answers, but unfortunately, I have none. I sigh as I put my phone back into my shirt pocket and walked into the command room.

* * *

_Minato's POV_

Once we got inside, Kazuya was sitting on the couch wearing a SEES armband and had an Evoker strapped to his holster, which was wrapped snugly around his waist. He smiled at us and got up, brushing his pants legs while doing so.

"Hey guys. Guess I'm part of the team now, eh?"

Junpei rolled his eyes and leaned back. "So we have yet another guy joinin' us. Hope you can keep up, Kazuya."

He smiled sheepishly. "Don't worry; I won't slow you guys down. So when are we heading out?"

I smiled and nodded at Fuuka. "Right now. Fuuka, how's Tartarus looking tonight?"

She went into an open area of the room and summoned her Persona, Lucia, scanning the area around the school.

"Tartarus may have an unstable formation today... the Shadows seem agitated as well. On a side note, the dead end that I read about in your previous notes seems to have vanished." Fuuka dismissed Lucia and looked at me. "Do you want to go tonight?"

I nodded and we all headed off to the school, ready to train and investigate the beacon that would call Nyx.

* * *

_Yu's POV_

When we got to Tartarus, Minato went up to the stairs and looked at each of us, trying to pick a group to accompany him. After a while he shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled.

"I want Kazuya, Yukari and Yu for tonight's exploration."

I grabbed my katana off the ground and walked up to Minato. Kazuya and Yukari followed us and we entered the doorway into the labyrinth.

We found ourselves at the gateway that blocked us during our last exploration, and I watched as the blue haired Persona-user touched the gate of bones. One by one, the obstacles obstructing our way folded and collapsed, revealing a staircase to the next area. We dashed up and found ourselves in the same block. I was stunned. Weren't we supposed to move up one block of this tower?

Minato must've known what I was thinking, and he turned to face me. "This happens from time to time- some blocks are bigger than others, and some are just one block. This towers huge, alright?"

I nodded and Fuuka's voice came over the speaker. "I've scanned the floors, everyone. There is a mighty presence on the 50th floor! Be careful!" The Shadows didn't pay attention to us as we ascended the floors- I could have sworn that some of them ran away from us as we approached them.

On floor 44, Fuuka's voice sounded once again. "Hold on... is the presence closer than I thought...? I'll double check..." A few seconds later she gasped. "The real location is on floor 46! It's right nearby! Be careful everyone!"

Two floors later, we arrived at the 'mighty presence' which turned out to be a giant tower with Hierophant masks on it. We engaged it and took battle positions. Fuuka contacted us once again.

"It's a powerful foe! It's Arcana is the Hierophant, so it has no weaknesses! Just attack with all you've got!"

Minato raised his Evoker to his head and fired, and he summoned Cu Chulainne. The warrior spun his spear and a bolt of electricity crashed onto the Shadow. It remained standing, so I went next.

I gave my Evoker a little twirl and placed the barrel against and chin. I fired and blue shards shot out the back of my head, as I summoned the Persona Ares. The Chariot Persona swung its giant sword straight down onto the tower, but it remained intact.

Kazuya took this chance, spun his Evoker in his fingers and pressed it against his temple. And just before he fired, he said something that chilled me slightly.

"Doesn't matter on the form, demons who defy me are good as dead!"

He fired and I watched as a Persona took form- a humanoid with grey skin and a sort of white samurai armor with a big white hat resting on his head. It pointed a finger at the giant tower and a small block of ice appeared around the Shadow. It shattered and shards of ice impaled the Shadow, yet it remained standing. I could tell, however, it was nearing death- the top was leaning to one side.

It wasn't going to be that easy though.

It turned to me and before I could react, a small tornado had formed beneath me. I was launched into the air and landed on the ground. I was in serious pain and my body refused to let me get up.

Just as it was about to make an attempt to finish me off, an arrow penetrated the top mirror. The Shadow stopped, shook a bit, and fell over onto the ground. I looked up to see Yukari running towards me, along with Kazuya and Minato.

She drew her Evoker, placed it against her forehead and fired, summoning Io of the Lovers Arcana. It cast Dia on me, healing the injuries on my body.

I looked at her and smiled. "Thanks, Yukari."

She nodded and Kazuya helped me up. "That thing did a number on you with that spell, Yu. How are the injuries feeling after Yukari healed you?"

I smiled. "I feel awesome."

We regrouped with Minato and kept proceeding up the rest of Arqa, killing any Shadows who decided to get in our way. Eventually we reached another large room, where Fuuka's voice came over us again.

"There's something dangerous here! Be careful, it's nothing like you've faced so far!"

Something we never faced before... I didn't know what she meant, but I took 'be careful' into heart. We charged through the floor before coming face to face with the 'dangerous thing.'

It was... nothing. No Shadow. No anything. Minato contacted Fuuka, confused.

"Fuuka, there's nothing here. Are you sure that you scanned something on this floor?"

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds.

"That's... impossible. I know I felt a powerful presence earlier... nothings there, you're sure?"

I looked sideways. "Yeah, just the plain darkness of the halls."

She sighed and I could feel that she was stressed, or upset, couldn't tell. "Alright... keep heading up, the top of this block is just a few more floors.

Just before we ascended to the next floor, I looked back and shuddered.

I could have sworn that just for a brief second, I saw a person with glowing marks across his body.

We arrived at the top, eventually and were greeted by yet another blockade. Fuuka contacted us again.

"Good work, return for today. And please don't forget to grab that document!"

Kazuya walked over to the briefcase, opened it and took out the document inside. Making sure we were all together we teleported back to the entrance and decided to call it a night.

And as we were leaving, I looked up at the doorway and shuddered.

How many people were going to... watch us? I was somewhat scared, and I didn't know why.

* * *

_Normal POV_

Outside the tower, Kazuya- the newest member of SEES- remained standing in the warm summer night. A cloaked figure walked out and removed his hood. The human Bel turned and faced his accomplice.

"Wow, almost got caught tonight. Getting sloppy?"

The cloaked figure chuckled, "Perhaps. Fighting that Shadow took a bit of my power, so... you get the idea, right?"

Kazuya rolled his eyes and folded his arms before looking up at the tower. "It's huge... by the way; do you think Yu saw you, Midnight?" Midnight shook his head and looked at the moon shining eerily in the sickeningly green sky.

"No- darkness is my ally, and if he did get a glimpse of me, he wouldn't have seen my face or any distinguishable characteristics."

Kazuya smiled and turned his attention to the peak of Tartarus. "Reminds me of Babel... sometimes, I always think what would've happened if I'd done something differently during the Tokyo Lockdown Incident. What would've happened if I sided with God, and became the Messiah? Or chose to rule over the demons and fight God for ownership of creation? What would've happened if I ran away from it all or chose to control the demons completely?"

Midnight looked at his young friend and smirked. "That's why people are always given choices- big or small, they can affect everyone. And his choice... will determine everything."

And Midnight then left, vanishing from sight with the darkness. Kazuya sighed and returned to the dorm and went to sleep.

* * *

End of Chapter 23

Kazuya's now a member of SEES, just like the mysterious Midnight predicted.

More MinatoxYukari moments, and it looks like Yukari's starting to like Minato a bit earlier than expected.

The fight scenes got a little better right? I'd like to think I'm improving.

It looks like Midnight almost got spotted, but like the darkness, he continues to elude others.

Are you curious as to what happens next? Me too.


	25. Chapter 24: Deceitful Words

Persona 3 Plus 1

By Crimson Reaper Ragna

Hi everyone. Been a while since my last update, eh?

So here's chapter 23 for all you readers out there! Enjoy and please R&R. Reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I don't own ATLUS or the Persona franchise, nor do I have any affiliation with them. I simply play and vastly enjoy their awesome games.

_Chapter 24: Deceitful Words_

* * *

_Yu's POV_

The exploration of Arqa from last week left me confused and desperate for answers. Someone- or something- had defeated a guardian Shadow just as we arrived at its location.

I prayed silently that whatever it was is an ally and not an enemy. Someone who could destroy a Shadow that quickly was insanely powerful- if we ended up fighting him, it'd probably be the last thing we'd ever do.

Kazuya had moved into the dorm two days after our expedition, and he loved it, far as I could tell, and his Persona ability was incredible- something I kind of envied. Sure, I have the Wild Card ability but that doesn't make me all-powerful- I just have the space in my soul and heart to contain multiple Personas.

Speaking of Personas, I had learned through practice that I could communicate with them- actually, just the ones who were the true forms of my social links, and Izanagi, my actual Persona. I closed my eyes and relaxed, calling for the original god within the sea of my soul.

"_Izanagi… you there?"_

Silence echoed throughout my consciousness as I waited for Izanagi to speak. Eventually, he did.

"_Yu... is something wrong?"_

I smiled and scratched the back of my head. Izanagi sounded like a father figure- a calming voice with a stern but caring tone. I sent another message through my psyche.

"_I guess you could say that. It's regarding Kazuya Minegishi, that new member. Something about him just… I fully trust him, I guess."_

Silence once again filled my mind, but there was no delay. I suddenly found myself standing in a large meadow. The sky was clear of clouds and flowers decorated the green field. And Izanagi stood in front of me, looking at me with his calm, golden eyes that shined brightly behind his silver warriors mask. His twin white scarves stood motionless, and his giant spear rested in a sheath on his back.

"Where am I, Izanagi?"

My Persona folded his arms and looked down.

"I've called your consciousness to within your soul. It's easier to talk with you this way."

I once again surveyed my surroundings. If what Izanagi said was true, this was the form that my soul took. I turned back to my Persona and smiled.

"Back to my question… like I said, I don't fully trust Kazuya. He seemed way too powerful and he also returned to the dorm much later than us last week. I think he's hiding something."

Izanagi put one hand to his chin, going into deep thought. Eventually, he spoke.

"Didn't you follow a similar line of questioning with Tohru Adachi?"

I sighed. He was right. I had become a close friend with Adachi, and trying to convince myself he was the serial killer was difficult. When we entered the Midnight Channel to confront him, my friends told me to not pursue him alone. But I confronted him alone- I made a desperate yet fruitless effort in talking him out of his insane scheme.

I looked towards the ground and shrugged.

"That was different, Izanagi. Convincing myself he was the serial killer wasn't easy. All I'm saying is that I think Kazuya knows something we don't."

My Persona chuckled and picked a flower from the ground, examining it in his hands.

"Then let me ask you this- when Yukiko Amagi said he could destroy any evidence that pointed towards him, how did you feel at that moment?"

I felt my eyes narrow and curled my hands into fists. "That was different! If I didn't accuse Adachi, people would have died, just as Naoto said!" I continued to glare at my 'other self' before I dropped my head in defeat. "Izanagi… what should I do?"

He thought for a moment and walked towards me, putting his hand on my shoulder, as a father would do for a child.

"Did you continue to trust Tohru Adachi, even after you defeated him?"

I nodded my head weakly, which caused Izanagi to chuckle. "Then talk with him, like you did with all those other humans during your year in Inaba. Form a bond with him, Yu. I know you can do it." I looked up and smiled.

"Thanks, Izanagi."

My eyes shot open and I found myself in Composition class at school. I silently thanked my Persona but quickly noticed Ms. Toriumi staring at me from across the room, eyes narrowed and arms folded.

"Narukami-kun, did you hear me? I asked you to translate this paragraph into English."

I nodded and stared at the chalkboard, where a sentence was written in romanized Japanese.

_Kyuuka yoru anraku touhou motte itto nukumi_

I sighed. The sentence would be incorrect if directly translated. Toriumi-sensei smiled.

"Don't worry. An indirect translation is fine, Narukami-kun."

I blinked in shock. Did she just read my mind? I nodded and stood up, running the sentence through my head before speaking.

"In English, it says 'Summer nights comfort us with it's warmth... at least, that's what it would say in an indirect translation."

Ms. Toriumi smiled and nodded. "Very good, Narukami-kun! That is absolutely correct. Now then, I decided to bring in some works of Utsuba Kudo... Hamuko, would you please pass them out?"

The rest of the day passed without issue and just as I began to leave, I saw Minato at the gate. Something about Kazuya was bothering me, and because Minato was my partner, I had to talk with him about it. I strolled over to him and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Hey, can I have a sec?"

He turned around, looked at me and nodded. "Sure. What's on your mind?"

I sighed, ruffled my silver hair slightly, and sat on the bench nearby. Minato sat down next to me and as a sign of respect, removed his headphones and switched his MP3 off. He turned his head to look at me and smiled.

"So what's on your mind?" he asked.

I leaned back and stared up at the sky. "Well, it's about Kazuya…"

Minato looked down at the ground, deep in thought. "What about him?"

I didn't know what to say for a minute. Seriously, what could I say?_"Well it's just Kazuya is weird because he looks pretty much like you and his Persona ability is super powerful, and I think we should get him out of SEES." _No way I could say that. Minato would think I'm stupid.

Gathering my thoughts I looked right at him and frowned. "Well... it's just... how do I put this... well, you see..." I kept racking my brain, desperate to think up a good starting line. But I drew nothing but blanks.

Sighing in defeat, I leaned back and just let my mouth fly.

"I think Kazuya is hiding something. He's way too powerful, for one. He had no trouble entering the Dark Hour as well. He entered the school _just_ after our victory against Empress and Emperor. In all honesty, I don't trust him."

Minato was silent for a bit, like he was contemplating something. When he finally turned to me and spoke, he said something I wasn't expecting.

"I agree."

Wait, what? Did Mianto agree with me?

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I've been through this journey before, and Kazuya Minegishi never even existed back then. We never had him transfer to Gekkokan High at all. And the fact that he's this powerful after just having awakened is also mysterious. He's definitely hiding something…" Minato explained.

So that's it. Kazuya never existed here during Minato's first journey. That would certainly explain it.

"But we can't simply confront him without any evidence of sorts. The best that we can do is try to keep an eye on him for any suspicious activity. And the fact is that he is a powerful asset to us, and without him, we might not win future battles," Minato finished.

I nodded, grabbed my stuff, and went with him back to the dorm.

* * *

_Kazuya POV_

"Man, this bites," I say to myself as I watch the two Wild Card holders leaving.

So they suspect me, eh… Guess I shouldn't be too surprised. After all, I did sort of come out of nowhere and such.

But I'm not really worried about Minato or Yu suspecting me. I have bigger concerns. It's almost the new moon. That means that Midnight needs to take his medicine during these nights, or…

"… I better hurry," I say as I leave.

* * *

_Hamuko's POV_

As soon as I returned to the dorm, I plopped down on the couch, turned on the TV, and saw the news come on.

But the news wasn't all that normal. The topic was incredibly disturbing.

It was about a mysterious string of assassinations that had begun to plague Tatsumi Port Island for the past week, and tonight's news was covering the latest killing.

I heard someone come downstairs. Carefully craning my neck to the side, I was relieved to see Onii-chan walking towards me. He smiled and sat on the couch across from me.

"What's on?" he asked.

I shivered in my seat and brought my knees up to my chest, hugging them close.

"It's about those murders..."

I could have sworn Onii-chan shuddered slightly and a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. But maybe it was my imagination.

We turned our attention to the news and watched.

"Good evening. Tonight's top story regards the string of assassinations that began approximately a week ago. We now bring you to our on-site reporter, Tasumui."

The screen shifted to a young woman in a T-shirt holding a microphone, and from the location, she was at the alley behind Port Island Station.

"Thank you, Kaeni. At 2:00 am this morning, a 17-year-old male teenager was found dead behind here, at Port Island Station. The victim was apparently shot in the back with what police assume to be a high-caliber pistol. However, his identity remains a mystery. As a result of the murder, a search warrant has been set out for these criminals with a reward of thirty million yen. I repeat, 30 million yen."

The screen shifted back to the anchorwomen who faced the audience with a smile on her face.

"There you have it, people of Iwatodai. A mysterious murderer is going around. How many more people will die before he or she is caught? Stay tuned after these commercials."

I switched off the TV and looked at Onii-chan whose face had become very sullen. I tapped him and he looked at me with a frown.

"Yeah?"

I shook slightly. "Who's the guy whose killing people?"

He shook his head and sat up. "They're a group called St-" He cut himself off when he saw that Akihiko and Mitsuru came down, wearing some battle gear.

"Arisato, should we go to Tartarus? Akihiko and I are eager to go," Mitsuru asked.

He shook his head.

"Sorry but... not tonight. Something is bothering me," Onii-chan explained.

At that moment, Ikutsuki-san walked in, and everyone else- Yu-kun, Junpei, Yukari-chan, Fuuka and Kazuya-kun- came down. They sat wherever was available and I looked around, dumbstruck.

"Uh, did we have something planned?" Ikutsuki chuckled.

"Sort of. I have something to say."

He sat down, crossed his legs and smiled.

"Now, as you know, each Shadow belongs to a category of the Arcana, from I to XIII, or Magician to Death."

Kazuya shrugged. "And?"

The chairman chuckled and readjusted his glasses.

"Well, those giant Shadows from full moons... they are completely in tune with those categories- Magician, High Priestess, Empress and Emperor."

Yu sighed. "I don't get what you're saying, Ikutsuki-san."

Ikutsuki-san nodded. "I understand- I just wanted to let you know that they are very, very important. Just remember that."

I got up and stretched a little, "Alright guys, I'm gonna go to the Café for a part-time job tonight. I'll be back before midnight. Later," I say as I left the dorm. The others said their 'byes' and 'be carefuls' as I left.

Then I went to the café and served everyone their drinks. When I was done and paid my 5000-yen, I left and was about to go home when I noticed that Kazuya was going into the alleyway.

What's Kazuya doing here?

I tried to follow him to possibly see what he was doing, when all of a sudden my phone rang. I nearly had a heart attack from that. I picked up my phone and it was Onii-cham.

"Hamuko, are you coming back to the dorm yet? Its gonna be midnight in about half an hour. Hurry back, okay?" he asked worryingly.

I was pretty happy to know that he was worried about me, but I wish that he didn't worry like an overprotective brother. Guess I should've expected that.

"I'll be back in a bit. See ya," I reply hanging up the phone after saying our goodbyes.

Now what was I doing again…? Oh yeah, I was-

"Hey Hamuko," a voice greeted behind me, which nearly gave me yet another heart attack. God, stop that, or I really might get one these days!

I turn to see Kazuya smiling down on me.

"Hey Kazuya-kun. I just finished my part-time job, and Onii-chan called to tell me to hurry back," I explain, even though he never asked.

"Well we should go then," he said offering an arm. I couldn't help but blush by his offer, but I took it anyways as we started walking back home.

There goes my chances to check out what he was doing, but then again, I'm pretty sure that Kazuya wouldn't do anything shady. He's a member of SEES after all.

But what was he doing here this late at night anyways? I'm too tired to care. Just wanna get home and sleep.

* * *

_Minato's POV_

I sighed as I put down my phone from talking to Hamuko. I couldn't help but worry about her at times. But then again, I am her big brother.

Sigh… now that I knew that Hamuko was coming back, my mind wandered back to my original thoughts.

The murders committed by Strega.

A part of me desired to sneak out of the dorm and try to find Strega before they committed another assassination, but I couldn't.

For one, everyone would think I'd be going to investigate Tartarus.

And the second, I had little power to face them with at the moment.

I never thought going through a journey again could be so... difficult. Especially with many events that didn't happen before, with Midnight, Kazuya, and the new Social Links.

But that's the consequence- I can't expect everything to return.

...The Compendium!

That was it! As soon as school let out tomorrow, I'd go to the Velvet Room and get my most powerful Personas- the ones who represented my deepest bonds.

The power of those Personas would help me_tremendously..._unless something happened. Mnay things could happen, but with those powers from my bonds, I could succeed. When I heard Hamuko's voice saying that she's home, I decided to go get some sleep, seeing as I would need my energy tomorrow and there would be no need to worry.

I slept soundly that night- no noise awakened me.

* * *

_Normal POV_

11:59:55… 11:59:56… 11:59:57… 11:59:58… 11:59:59… 12:00:00

The world entered the Dark Hour. The sky turned a sickly green, and people still awake were now coffins. A young man in a black cloak stumbled through shadowed alleys, gripping his left arm in pain. His crimson eyes shined with anger and he had to use all of his power to avoid going berserk.

He stumbled and fell down on his knees, as he shakily took out the medicine called 'supressants' that Kazuya got for him just a while ago. He consumed one of the pills, but it wasn't working, so he took a few more pills until his powers finally calmed down.

Midnight panted as he collapsed and was on his back looking at the sky. The moon in the sky was nearing the shadows, almost the night of a new moon. Midnight hated that.

Every time there was a new moon, his powers went completely haywire and anyone around him who was transmogrified would return to normal.

And then... he'd kill them. Blood would fly from anyone who approached him, and only the end of this horrible time frame could ease him. On days surrounding the new moon, he had some control of himself, but he needed his medicine to keep himself in control, or his power would go haywire.

He was desperate to avoid fatalities.

Finally arriving at his 'secret spot', he slouched on the ground and buried his head into his knees. No one knew about this place- it was secluded from the rest of Iwatodai, and people had deemed it a quarantine zone thanks to drug wars the previous year.

Midnight slept through the dark hour, but each passing minute caused his lust for blood to rise.

He wanted- no, he _needed_ a cure. Someone must have a cure that can save him from his fate.

'_But… perhaps it was too late,' _he thought. That didn't stop him from wanting to try.

Besides, he didn't have anywhere to go to. Not that he could go anywhere.

After all… he didn't really belong in this world anymore.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER 23.

What did you all think? Great, right?

Kazuya knows that Yu and Minato don't trust him at all. What's he gonna do about that?

Murders? Strega is up to no good again.

Hamuko nearly caught Kazuya. Bad timing on Minato's part, though, right?

Midnight… what's his deal? So he's the one the murdered them? Or was it Strega? Looks like Midnight has more mysteries than he lets on.

Hope you guys enjoyed! R&R please! Each and every review makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside!


	26. Chapter 25: The Assailant-Part 1

Persona 3 Plus 1

By Shunto/Crimson Reaper Ragna

Do you think it's about time I just stop with the title and jump straight into Q&A followed by disclaimer and then story?

I think so too.

So from the next chapter on, the title won't be displayed- we simply skip into any questions from the reviews and PMs followed by my disclaimer and then the part we all enjoy very much- the story.

So here's Q&A.

**Omegaxis1**- Your reviews are awesome and you have lots of questions that need answering. But if I did it now it'd take too much time. So I'll just answer one- Yes, those shadows are as good as dead... unless something happens to the compendium.

**Mistress of Madness**- Take an aspiren. And yes, Ikutsuki will DIE. I HATE HIM! GAHHHH!

Okay, now for disclaimer:

_I, Crimson Reaper Ragna, have absolutely NOTHING to do with Atlus Entertainment, the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series. I don't own the series, I didn't make the series, I am a simple diehard fan. I also have no connections with SONY Entertainment, the main system on which the Persona series is placed on. All artwork, story, BGM and other assorted aspects of the series were not made by me. The series belongs to Atlus, which the series is copyrighted to._

There. Disclaimer made. Let's begin!

_Fact of the Day: Oddly enough, if one looks into the sound files for Persona 3 and P3FES, it is revealed that there are sound files of the protagonist and Shinjiro Aragaki shouting the names of other SEES Personas, as well as the Wild Card ones. It is also worthy to note that the protagonist's original design heavily reflected that of Shinjiro- a similar concept can be made with an early concept of Rise Kujikawa, whose original design heavily reflected that of Ai Eibihara._

* * *

_Chapter 25: The Assailant- Part 1_

**Minato POV**

I headed to the back alley in mall, where there was the entrance to the Velvet Room. I used the Velvet Key to open it and enter into the other dimension.

"Hello. It's good to see you again, Minato," the voice of Elizabeth, the servant of Igor greeted. I smiled at her.

"Hello Elizabeth," I greeted back, "You too."

Elizabeth blushed a bit when I said that. I knew that she held feelings for me, which I knew since my first journey, when we had our last date together.

"What would you like today?" she asked. I already knew what I wanted.

"I want to use the Compendium for my Personas," I answer and said which Personas I wanted.

"I see. Here you go," Elizabeth said as she opened her book and the cards that contained my Personas came out and towards me. Now, I had my powerful Personas which we could use to defeat anyone.

I paid Elizabeth the money for the Personas. It was a hefty price, but it was for a worthy cause. I said my goodbyes and left the Velvet Room.

Right after I left, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and it wasn't registered, meaning it could only be one person.

"Hello. Midnight, right?" I greet.

Instead of hearing a chuckle or something similar, I hear panting and a sound of pain from the other end. What the hell?

"… Minato… What… whatever you do… do _not_ enter the Tower of Demise tonight… or you'll get killed…" Midnight said, sounding exhausted. What was going on with him?

"What? What do you mean?" I ask, but he hung up before anything could be said. What kind of cryptic message was that? Tonight's a new moon, right? Aren't Shadows supposed to be at their most dangerous on a _Full_ Moon?

He must be messing with me. Whatever the case, tonight, we are definitely going to Tarturus.

* * *

**Kazuya's POV**

The night before, when I went to give Midnight those suppressants, I had to actually pray that what I did was right.

From what I heard about these, they keep people's Persona's under control... I start recalling the information that I had obtained with Midnight from the Kiroju group in secret.

"Shadows" are repressed human thoughts, and a "Persona" is a facet of one's personality. If a person confronts and accepts their shadow as a part of themselves, it becomes a Persona. But people who's Shadows are forcibly turned into Personas may try to kill their host. That drug- the suppressants- they pacify the Shadow and revert it to its Persona form. But the cost... is that they slowly kill the user.

If Midnight took too many... I dreaded the thought.

Even though I didn't know Midnight for very long, a few months at best, I still considered Midnight a close ally. Perhaps even a friend. We have a form of understanding with each other.

But none of that mattered as I sat on the couch in Iwatodai Dorm, waiting for the others to get back from their Sunday afternoon. Nobody was around, so I decided to go out and stretch for a bit.

When I opened the door, however, a white dog ran up to me and barked happily before sitting down and wagging his tail.

I smiled and scratched its head.

"Hey there, doggie. What's your name?" I continued to pet him while I slowly reached for his neck, checking for a collar. My hand felt more soft fur, which confused me.

"No tag, huh...?"

The dog nodded and rubbed his nose against my arm, almost as if he understood what I was saying, earning a smile from me.

"You're such a smart dog... if only I knew what your name was..." I stood up and looked around, hoping to see something -_anything_- that would give me any inkling to this dog's identity.

Again, the dog seemed to know what I was thinking as he walked over to a patch of dirt, and -I still can't believe it- wrote some kanji in the dirt. I stood at the front door to the dorm, simply mesmerized. When he finished, he walked towards me, bit my shirt and tried to pull me over. Chuckling, I took my shirt from the dog's mouth and walked towards the dirt, smiling in amazement at the hound's incredible feat. I translated the kanji and nodded.

**Ko-ro-ma-ru**

I scratched the dog's head and smiled.

"So your name is Koromaru, eh? How does Koro-chan sound to you?" I asked.

Koromaru barked happily before sitting down and staring up at me with big puppy eyes. Grinning, I kneeled down and extended my hand.

"C'mon, Koro-chan- give me your paw."

He barked and placed his left paw in my hand, earning a smile from me and a pat on the head.

"You are such a good boy... I wonder who owns you?" I ask in wonder. Surely this dog couldn't be wild. It's too smart for it. But then again, some wild dogs could be naturally smart. But I had a feeling that this dog must have an owner.

At that moment, Yukari and Fuuka came by.

As soon as the emerald-haired student saw him, she smiled, "Hey, it's Koro-chan! What are you doing with Kazuya-kun, boy?"

I chuckled and proceeded to pet him again.

"I found him sitting outside earlier today. Believe me or don't, but he actually carved his own name in kanji into the dirt."

Yukari rubbed his head and Koromaru responded by softly licking her arm, earning a smile from the recipient followed by a pat to the head.

About ten minutes later, Minato, Hamuko and Yu came back, and for a split second, I could've sworn that Minato had glared at me, but it was gone before anyone else noticed it.

Yup, it's pretty obvious he has suspicions about me. But if that conversation he had with Yu didn't give off a hint, then this glare should be one.

Eventually, an old lady came by and smiled.

"Well, what do we have here? Hello, Koro-chan."

Yukari smiled. "You know this dog?"

The old lady nodded, "Of course. He belonged to the priest at Naganaki Shrine."

I smiled. "Where's the priest now? I kinda want to know more about him."

The lady sighed, "He died. Hit by a car…"

I went silent before rubbing Koromaru's head, "I'm sorry to hear that... I wonder how he feels?"

The lady chuckled and rubbed Koro-chan's back. "It may sound amazing, but ever since the priest's death, Koromaru here has been waiting at the shrine... waiting for his master... a man who'd never come. Yet he still waits."

Hamuko giggled. "Sounds like the tale of Hachiko!"

I nodded. "Indeed it does. Let's go inside, it's boiling out..."

When we went in, I was quite surprised to see everyone ready for a Tartarus exploration. I looked around at everyone before sitting on the couch.

"So... we going for some training tonight?" I asked. Mitsuru nodded.

"Indeed we are, Minegishi-san. We must be completely prepped and ready for the next Full Moon Operation," Mitsuru explained.

I stood up, brushed my pants leggings and stretched. "Oh yeah... I read through the reports on those two battles... May 9th and June 8th, right?"

Hamuko nodded her head vigorously. "Yup. Sooo... to prevent a repeat of the June 8th battle, we've gotta train 'till we can't train anymore!" Her eyes shined as she said that. I guess it's because of her attitude... and the fact that she nearly died if it wasn't for Junpei. Speaking of which, I noticed that she was looking at Junpei differently since then. Heh, I guess she's gotten a crush on him. Nice one for Junpei.

I then loosened up, ran upstairs to grab my gear, and went with the others to the monorail station. Since we had some time before reaching Port Island Station, I decided to strike up a conversation, or more accurately, I wanted to know why we were going back tonight since we had just reached the waypoint about two weeks earlier.

I leaned into my seat and smiled.

"So what are we doing in Tartarus tonight?" I asked.

Fuuka looked up from her laptop, closed it and slid it into her bag.

"I've detected a powerful presence somewhere around the upper layer of Arqa. Minato-kun wants to go investigate it," she explained, looking rather worried.

Powerful presence? I didn't understand, so I inquired further.

"Shadow or human?"

She sighed and ruffled her turquoise hair, "Well... human, I think. It's very similar to the presence from two weeks ago."

My eyes flew open and I sat upright, "Are you sure?"

Everyone looked at me, confused by what I had just said. Minato leaned forward and raised his eyebrow.

"Kazuya, do you know something we don't?"

I shook my head and sat down. Gotta play it cool or my cover'll be blown. If Midnight really was in Tartarus... this very well may be the last exploration we'd ever make.

Wait… what am I saying? We'll be fine. Thank god Midnight told me how to 'subdue' him.

I looked out the window, and suddenly, I felt my hopes come crashing down.

No… Not tonight. Anything but _tonight_.

It was a new moon!

If we stepped into that tower, we'd be as good as dead. Midnight goes ballistic on new moon nights. And the days surrounding, it cause strange things to happen to him.

But it was a no-go for tonight. We were going in. At most, I could probably detect where he is, but sooner or later he'd find us. And then...

I kept thinking about this, even as I walked with the others to the high school. And by the time we got there, Tartarus was already looming in the green sky, beckoning us in.

We all walked inside and, oddly, Minato, Hamuko and Yu came from a corner of the room and the young, blue-haired leader went to the foot of the stairway, preparing to choose his team.

"For tonight's exploration, I want-" but before Minato could continue, I interrupted him. "Let's all go in!"

Mitsuru stared at me quizzically. "Minegishi-san, some of us have to remain here and protect the equipment, as well as remain for backup exploration members."

I shook my head. "_No._That presence in the tower... I can somehow sense it, alright? And I can tell that it's wicked strong." I was trying to get everyone to go inside- Midnight was strong enough by himself, but even he would have trouble against _eight _of us, right?

... I sure hoped so.

Minato sighed and looked at Fuuka, "Keep close to us Fuuka. And don't wander off."

The emerald-haired girl nodded and walked with us to the entrance of the labyrinth for the second time.

Thank god. Maybe now we'd be able to survive a few rounds against that beast. But I had no idea how wrong was.

* * *

**Midnight POV**

UGH! The pain…!

I clutched my sides as hard as I could, but I knew that it was for naught. My Persona was now close to breaking out. No matter how many pills I take, I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop him. This is my curse for having all this raw, uncontrolled power.

Hopefully Minato and the others don't come here in the tower. Cause if they did, I'd most likely kill them…

I could feel every beat my heart was making, and I started to feel dizzy as my vision started blurring.

Then Shadows started to surround me, in an attempt to consume me.

"Ugh… despite the fact that you deserve it… I recommend that you get away from me… or you'll be destroyed…" I warned the Shadows. Unfortunately, they did not listen… and now would pay the price…

I let out a scream of pain as my mind went blank and my Persona was unleashed.

* * *

**Normal POV**

The entire team -except for Fuuka- entered the labyrinth, Minato having taken Kazuya's advice. If he really was correct, then the entire team would be needed to hold ground against a powerful enemy such as this.

For the next few floors, Shadows attacked the group, hoping to wipe them out once and for all. But onslaughts from all members of SEES destroyed the monsters before they had a chance to react.

But their luck ran out when they arrived to the gateway that had blocked the team three weeks prior.

As the members of SEES arrived at the dead end, a lone figure in a black cloak greeted them. It was a shock to the entire group, but Fuuka and Kazuya were the most surprised.

Fuuka stepped back, shocked at this person- her savior standing in front of her.

"I-it's you...!"

Yu turned to look at her, "You know this guy?"

Fuuka nodded, "Yes. When I was in here- before Minato-kun and the others came to rescue me, a giant shadow attacked..."

Minato gaze turned to worry, "...did it carry two giant revolvers?"

Yu continued with the same expression, "And was its cloak tattered and splotched with bloodstains?"

Fuuka nodded, "Yes... and he saved me. He destroyed that Shadow so quickly and easily."

This came as a shock to everyone. This guy was able o take on the Reaper and win so easily? If so, then his power must be great.

But no one noticed Kazuya staring at the cloaked figure. And in an instant, the mysterious assailant attacked the group.

Fuuka retreated to a corner, and summoned Lucia as the other SEES members called forth their Personas.

_"Messiah!"_

Minato fired his Evoker, and a white figure with a large pole floated above him, its hair similar to that of its summoner. Raising its arm, three orbs conjured down onto the strange enemy and detonated, causing the assailant to stagger, but that was it.

_"Kaguya!"_

Yu's Evoker fired, and a beautiful figure with black skin and multi-layered cloths hovered above him. It also sported bunny ears, strangely enough. However, Yu's body became charged by a blue light, and a large cyclone formed underneath the foe- it seemed to work, as for an instant, the strange opponent struggled against the ferocious winds.

_"Thanatos!"_

The younger Arisato's Evoker was triggered and the Persona from over a month ago appeared. It drew its sword and roared, cleaving at the target, but the strange man drew a blade and repelled his attacker, but not without suffering a scrape on his arm.

_"Come forth, Io!"_

Yukari, desperate to stay alive, fired her Evoker faster than she knew she could. Io, mounted on her bull head, appeared, giving everyone else a soothing feeling- healing magic was keeping the team fighting.

_"Let's show em' what we've got, Hermes!"_

Junpei summoned his Persona Hermes, and watched as it dashed around the foe before landing a solid hit on his back. The assailant flipped up and gasped for breath.

_"Come on out, Polydeuces!"_

Akihiko whipped out his Persona summoning device and fired, calling Polydeuces of the Emperor Arcana. It hunched inward and spread its limbs as a bolt of electricity smashed onto the attacker, stunning him. But he was far from over.

Oddly enough, it seemed only as if he was trying to endure- not fighting back at all.

Yet the team's attacks continued.

_"I summon thee, Penthesilea!"_

The young red haired heiress, Mitsuru, fired her Evoker at her right temple, and summoned Penthesilea. It spun around and a large cube of ice encased the foe, before shattering. The strange opponent recoiled and raised his weapon, ready to endure the next blow... and also begin his counterattack.

_"Destroy him, Beldr!"_

Kazuya fired his Evoker, and watched as the immortal Norse god appeared. A large ball of flame launched towards the attacker and a huge cloud of dust formed.

For a few seconds, the team smiled in victory. But the smiles turned to looks of shock as the dust cleared, revealing the attacker to still be standing. In fact, it didn't even seem like he really took any damage at all. Not even his cloak.

Yu stepped back and brandished his katana. "You've gotta be kidding... all those attacks and he didn't even get knocked out...!?"

The assailant raised his sword and it started to glow with energy. He slashed his sword and a wave of energy came out going straight at them.

"GET BACK!" Minato yelled at his teammates, as he raised his Evoker, but Hamuko and Yu did as well, while the others obeyed and got back.

"_Messiah!"_

"_Kaguya!"_

"_Thanatos!"_

The three Wild Card holders summoned their Personas and fired their attacks at the wave. It seemed to clash and looked like a stalemate, but then the assailant seemed to roar and the wave of energy suddenly overwhelmed the attacks and slicked right through the three Personas.

Then the impossible happened. The three Personas didn't fade and return to their owners, but instead, they started cracking. The cracks started to spread until they were all over the Personas, and all of a sudden… they shattered into nothing.

The Wild Card holders had their eyes widened in horror at what just happened. Minato raised his Evoker to his temple.

"Messiah!" he cried as his pulled the trigger, but nothing happened this time.

The others tried as well, and got the same result. The impossible had happened. This assailant had just _destroyed_ their Personas in just one strike.

The team had then realized that they were face to face with something far more dangerous than any they had ever faced.

And this time... there didn't appear to be a way out.

* * *

_END OF CHAPTER 25_

Dammit! I hate cliffhangers... don't you as well?

Oh well. I hope I did better on this fight scene. Please R&R.

And I sincerely apologize for the MASSIVE hiatus. For those of you who continue to read this fic... you guys are great sports.

'Till next time.


	27. Chapter 26: The Assailant-Part 2

_Persona 3 Plus 1_

Disclaimer: I don't own ATLUS; I am not affiliated with them either. They make the games and we buy them. It's as simple as that.

Note: The first P3 Movie has been announced under the title of "Spring of Birth," with the protagonist being named Makoto Yuki. The FMC has been as of yet unannounced.

* * *

_Chapter 26: The Assailant – Part 2_

_Minato's POV_

I was stunned at what had just occurred. This guy had just destroyed my Persona along with Yu and Hamuko's. What kind of monster was he?! There shouldn't be any kind of power like that at all, but here it was. He was too strong…

But… desperate to continue fighting, I raised my Evoker to my head and tried to fire again.

"MESSIAH!"

And once again, nothing happened.

I silently cursed, angry at the fact that I blatantly disregarded Kazuya's warning. Why did I think that I could win? Because I had Messiah on me? If so, then I'm a fool.

My right arm fell down and my Evoker fell to the ground. My knees followed up and I was sitting on the ground, on my knees, in a state of total shock. The cloaked man walked forward and raised his sword arm. No matter how much I wanted to move, my body refused. Was I afraid of this assailant? Yes… I was…

I closed my eyes, waiting for the end.

"BELDR!"

I looked up and saw that Kazuya's Persona, Beldr, had emerged and was blocking the sword with its hands. The figure knocked it away and Beldr grabbed me while it was moving.

The figure made another attempt to attack as he transformed his blade into a gun, but was stopped by Mitsuru and Penthesilea. The Empress Persona froze the figure's gun, stopping it from firing.

Seeing that, I smiled and slowly got back up. I wasn't alone. My friends were here for me, so why should I be cowering in fear like that.

The person shattered the ice on his gun and faced Mitsuru, his expression unknown through the shadows of his cloak. He aimed the gun at her, but Junpei, who rolled to the side, summoned Hermes. The Messenger God Persona rammed into the attacker and sent him tumbling into a pillar.

Before the figure could recover his focus, Yukari went next as Io appeared and caused a pillar of wind to rise underneath the strange opponent, hurling him towards the ceiling and a few moments later, right back down to the floor. That _had_ to hurt.

I soon felt my power returning. The bonds that I have with my friends are real. I picked up my Evoker, which strangely felt heavy. Messiah was gone, but he wasn't my only Persona. We could still fight.

Akihiko summoned Polydeuces and a wicked bolt of electricity fell onto the stranger, however, the attack was being blocked out by a strange energy being emitted by him.

Slowly, I raised my Evoker to my head. I just needed a little more power…

Fuuka folded her arms inside the bubble of her Persona, Lucia, and a wave of energy surged through my body.

With one last push of effort, I held my Evoker to my head and smiled, beads of sweat rolling down my face.

"Per…so…na…!"

I fired the Evoker and felt power surge as Messiah took form. I thought he was destroyed, but he was here again. I was glad to know that.

But something was different. In it's right arm, it held a sword with a blade made almost entirely of light. I pointed my arm to the stranger and Messiah rushed forward, swinging it's sword at the figure. The figure reacted and transformed his gun to a blade and clashed swords with it.

A flash of light engulfed the area and I covered my eyes to avoid going blind. It wasn't only the light, but an incredble power was bursting forth through the area. It was a miracle that we weren't blown away.

When it cleared, I slowly lowered my arms and looked around. The attacker was gone, and not only that, but so was his presence. But I knew that he wasn't dead or even weakened. He probably was just… warded off…

My head suddenly felt as though it was splitting open and I felt my energy leave me. I looked to see Messiah begin to crumble away into nothing once more. Perhaps he was only restored for a moment. The last thing I heard before blacking out was Yu yelling at everyone to get me out of Tartarus.

I felt my mind shut off and my eyes closed, blanketing the world- my world- in darkness.

* * *

_Normal POV_

Outside of Tarturas was the same figure, who had collapsed on the ground, panting heavily as he seemed to regain his strength.

"Minato… Arisato… you have my thanks…" Midnight muttered as he walked away. He managed to use enough power to regain his senses and escape to take the suppressants.

However… it was still just a temporary cure…

* * *

_Yu's POV_

I smiled at my partner. The power he had used… it was incredible. He was on a whole different level than me. But his power had come from everyone's desire to protect him.

Yet the ambulance was silent as we all rode to the hospital as the Dark Hour had ended just a few minutes ago.

Yukari was the one who broke the silence.

"Who… who was the guy? He was really strong…" she said, as she clutched her arms and shivered at the memory of his power.

Kazuya sighed and removed his cat eared-like headphones from his ears.

"I told you guys that we shouldn't have gone in… if it weren't for that miracle Minato pulled off, we'd all be screwed."

Junpei adjusted his cap and yawned before turning his attention to the unconscious leader of SEES. "He's really something else, y'know…? If it weren't for him… we'd all be dead."

Hamuko had tears rolling down her face. "I'm scared… what if he dies…? He's all I've got left since our parents died…" She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

Mitsuru looked to the floor of the large vehicle and sighed. "Arisato… he'll be alright. I know he will. I just have the feeling that he'll pull through."

Akihiko nodded. "She's right. We didn't choose him for nothing, you know. But if he does die…" He looked at me. "Yu. If he dies, you're-"

I stopped him. "No." I knew exactly what Akihiko was going to say and there was no way in hell I'd agree. I know that I was the leader of my group in my world, but it wasn't the case here.

The older student sighed. "It's what he'd want."

There was no room to stand up, yet everyone in the transport car could feel my anger towards my upperclassman. "How would _you_ know what he'd want, Akihiko? Hell, why are we arguing for that matter?!"

Fuuka was silent, her hands quietly tapping away at her laptop's keyboard. I sighed, and sat back down. Kazuya had his hands clamped together, his eyes directed towards the floor of this rather large ambulance. No one said a word for the remainder of the ride.

* * *

_Normal POV_

After the team's arrival to Tatsumi Medical Center, Minato was taken into a room and monitored for the rest of the night. Meanwhile, the rest of SEES, Ikutsuki included, waited in the lobby for the results.

The door opened just as the clock on the wall read three in the morning and a nurse came out. Yu approached her and rubbed his eye.

"How is he?"

The nurse, who was called Shuika, took out a clipboard and handed it to the silverette. "He's fine. Just a little tired, that's all. He should be ready for dismissal by this afternoon," she answered.

Hamuko smiled and began to cry tears of joy and Yukari walked over to hold her shoulder while Yu just stood there and smiled. A thought came to his mind and caused the young man to shut his eyes in relief.

'_Minato... you lucky bastard...'_ he thought in his head.

Around twelve that afternoon, Minato was dismissed from the infirmary and was surprised to see that the entire team had left. Yet he went home to the dorm regardless. Shuika stood at the door and smiled before walking down the hall and into an empty room.

As soon as she locked the door she dropped her clipboard and turned around to see Kazuya Minegishi, back to the wall and head bobbing to the music playing from his trademark headphones. Noticing her presence, the young human Bel removed his accessory and smiled.

"So, he's fine to go?" he asked.

Shuika nodded. "Yes, he just left a few minutes ago. Now let's talk about what I want in return..."

* * *

_Minato's POV_

As I approached the dorm, a sudden pain surged through my right arm. I gripped it and leaned against the side of the building, standing until the pain subsided.

Guess I'm not fully recovered after all, but that's the cost when you're a high school student fighting monsters...

I walked up to the dorm and opened it, and I was greeted by darkness. The whole downstairs had the lights turned off. I closed the door and the lights switched back on and without warning, my good arm, the left one, was grabbed and pulled away from the door.

"What the- hey, let me-!"

I pushed the arm away, and indirectly, the owner before spinning around to see every current member of SEES smiling at me with cool, relaxed expressions on their faces.

I smiled and silently laughed. "What's the occasion?"

Junpei broke the ice. "You got dismissed without any serious problems, dude! So we decided to have a little celebration!" He then sighed. "But man, what took ya so long to get here?"

Yu rolled his eyes. "Well, you're one to talk. You kept trying to sneak some of the food before he got here."

Junpei rubbed his neck and groaned. "Ya didn't have to say it out loud..." He looked around to see everyone staring at him. "But- c'mon guys, I was starving!"

I smiled and, without any explanation, began to laugh. Junpei sighed and looked at me before starting to laugh as well. Pretty soon, the whole dorm was filled with laughter.

I just felt happy to be alive.

The celebration kicked off shortly after our laughing spree ended, and from time to time, my friends would come up to me and give me a high five, shake my hand, or in my sisters case, give me a big hug.

Yukari was acting weird though. She just sat at the bar, rotating her punch glass between her hands.

I still have no idea what a bar of all things is doing in a school dorm.

* * *

After a while, some people began to go upstairs to play some games but Yukari remained. Along with me.

Instinctively, I began moving towards her. She was too busy looking down to notice me, which made me worry. And then, after reaching her, I took a seat next to hers and smiled.

"Something wrong, Yukari?" I asked, a little concerned. She usually didn't act like this. Her worry was making me feel bad.

She sighed, but still hadn't noticed me. I smiled and took a sip of my drink.

"C'mon, what's on your mind?"

I saw a slight smile spread across her lips and she rolled her eyes. "Fine, you win," she said, as she looked up to speak, and paused the moment she saw me. Her face slowly began to turn red as she looked down once again.

"I-I didn't know you were sitting _that_ close..."

Now I know something's up. "Seriously, Yukari... what's wrong? You've been acting kinda distant to me for a while... no, really distant."

I didn't receive an answer for a while, and for a moment, I was worried. And then I said something I immediately regretted. "You're a valuable member of the team, Yukari. If something's bothering you, tell me. I'm all ears."

I mentally kicked myself. I had _just _called the most beautiful girl I had ever known just a 'member of the team.' That was basically saying that I saw her as nothing more than a friend. No, even less that that, an_asset_!

Stupid, stupid, stupid-! She's probably even more upset!

I stayed silent and she did the same. Neither of us said a word for a while, during which time I kept mentally kicking myself. When I finally looked up, Yukari was looking at me with a beet-red face. "M-Minato-kun, I, uh..."

* * *

_Normal POV_

Yukari couldn't find the right words to say to him, and she was even more confused by the fact that she was embarrassed like a high school girl with a crush. It was like a shojou manga cliche, and she desperately wanted to end the awkward silence that radiated throughout the first floor of the dorm.

Minato tilted his head to the side somewhat, wondered what she meant, or was trying to say. Most people didn't have feelings for each other this fast. Granted, neither he nor Yukari were 'most people', especially the former- but what was she trying to say? Unlike the girl next to him, he had a natural cap on his emotions, but beneath his cool and calm exterior, he was still wondering what on earth she was trying to say.

Still, neither of them did anything for a while- and then the brunette finally broke the silence.

"Listen, I gotta go. Stuff to do and I need help with some math. So-"

"Want me to tutor you?" Minato interrupted.

The world stopped around Yukari Takeba and her thoughts broke out. He didn't just... did he? She desperately hoped he was making a bad joke of sorts, but his eyes showed quite the opposite.

Minato Arisato was... quite serious. Something that rarely displayed itself in his eyes.

Without thinking, Yukari acted without thinking and leaned into Minato's face and gave him a quick peck on the lips, and the whole world- kind enough to not ruin to fleeting moment - stopped.

Realizing what she did, Yukari pulled away from him instantly and got up, sweat dripping down her face. "Gotta go." With that, she turned and bolted up the stairs.

The blue-haired youth didn't say, or even do, anything. His whole body was acting as if it were glued to the stool, and he was in a trance of sorts. Pertrified would be the correct word to anyone that saw him.

"I, but... wha... she... me... we haven't even... beach, hug... I..." All Minato could mutter out was nonsense, and, after a few seconds of rambling, he fell over onto the floor, out cold. How could that be? In the original timeline, Yukari only started caring about him like that way from that incident at Yakushima, so why was she doing this now?

"Hey Minato, I found an order for something in your room from Tanaka's show and I was wondering if you-" Yu stopped and looked at Minato, sprawled on the floor. "What the- you okay?"

Minato opened his eyes and sighed. "...I don't know anymore."

"What happened? Yukari shot up the stairs, and far as I know, you two were the only ones down here. Seriously, what on earth happened?" he asked confused.

The blue-haired student rolled his eyes and sat up. "I saw heaven. That's about all I can say."

Yu shrugged and walked back up the stairs while Minato slugged slowly behind. When he finally reached his room, he collapsed on the bed and groaned.

"What a day this has been..." he muttered.

* * *

Kazuya returned later that night, and he barely made it inside the dorm just as the Dark Hour occurred.

Locking the door behind him, he slumped on the couch and listened the the rustling trees outside. It calmed him somewhat, listening the nature's sound.

Even if that sound was in an hour where monsters roamed the earth.

After a few minutes, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device that was similar to a phone. Mitsuru told him that some devices that were adjusted could work in the Dark Hour, and Midnight, for some unfathomable reason, taught him how to.

He dialed a number and waited for his partner to pick up. When he finally did, Kazuya sighed. "You feel any better?" he asked, slightly worried. He didn't hear anything for a bit at first though. Always the silent one.

"Yes, I have. Thanks to Minato's burst of power, I managed to calm _him_ down enough to get myself back in control. Sorry for what I did," Midnight finally answered.

"Don't worry. Never expected Minato to be that tough."

"That's a good sign, but had I not regained control, Minato and the others would have perished. You must keep them away from Tartarus on nights of the New Moon."

"I understand and I'll be sure to keep that in mind. By the way, since when did you have the power to destroy Personas?" Kazuya asked, the question being there since he saw him do that to Minato's Persona, along with Hamuko and Yu's.

No answer for a while. "… my powers are capable of doing that, however… Personas are never truly destroyed. Don't forget what Personas are…" Midnight responded. Kazuya thought about it, and understood what he meant.

Personas are the 'masks' of the person's personalities or thoughts. They are the person's 'soul' in a sense, so that meant that even if Midnight 'destroyed' them, they weren't truly 'dead' or gone. They still existed in the person's soul. However… that meant that they needed to reawaken that part of their soul.

Their secret weapon of having the super powerful Personas was already ruined. Back to square one for Minato and the others then.

"Alright… one more thing…" Kazuya said, as he said one last thing before hanging up.

"I don't trust Shuji Ikutsuki…"

* * *

Big, big apology to those who were waiting. I've had so much damn stress that it's pouring out in buckets, and finding out I'm diabetic (T1) doesn't help either.

Again, I'm so, so sorry, and any reviews or PMs would help a lot.

Reviews are like Somas!


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